


Talk To Him

by Biscuit Lion (cookiethelion)



Category: Pentagon (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Eventual Relationships, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Implied Sexual Content, Mild Language, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:26:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 86,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23326978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cookiethelion/pseuds/Biscuit%20Lion
Summary: When Shinwon moved into his new student accommodation for his second year at university, he wasn’t expecting two things:1. He’s now living with Changgu, a classmate that he doesn’t really talk to.2. It turns out he has a thing for boys older than him and shorter than him by half a foot.
Relationships: Jo Jinho | Jino/Ko Shinwon, Jo Jinho | Jino/Ko Shinwon/Lee Hwitaek | Hui, Jo Jinho | Jino/Lee Hwitaek | Hui, Kim Hyojong | E'Dawn/Kim Hyuna, Ko Shinwon/Lee Hwitaek | Hui, Yang Hongseok/Yeo Changgu | Yeo One
Comments: 47
Kudos: 134





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first chaptered fic in about 6 years o_0 the idea became a mishmash of two things, really; the revelation that Shinwon and Changgu aren't super close with each other, and the couple part of the [keyword dance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNM2ijwSpEQ) they did for Studio K.
> 
> (On a side note, I've had to change the age gap to make things fit. For the purpose of the fic, Hyuna's in her fourth year; Jinho, Hwitaek, and Hyojong are in their third year; Hongseok, Shinwon, Changgu, and Yan An are second years; and Yuto, Hyunggu, and Wooseok are first years.)

Shinwon had lived with Changgu for nearly two weeks now, but he didn’t feel any closer to his classmate.

There was nothing wrong with Changgu. Every time Shinwon had seen him in class, they’d always greeted each other with a smile, and they sometimes sat next to each other, but they had their own friends. Changgu hung out with the students who went to the gym, and knew the campus library like the back of their hands; Shinwon stuck to people who frequented the student bar, and binge-watched Netflix shows overnight until it was time for them to trudge, bleary-eyed, to classes.

The fact that they never really talked meant that Shinwon had no idea Changgu was his new housemate until the morning he’d moved in, when he’d turned up to find Changgu waiting outside and perched on his two suitcases. He hadn’t even known that two students had moved out at the same time until then; it was something Hwitaek hadn’t mentioned, when Shinwon had found his advert on the students’ Facebook page.

Living together was already changing Shinwon. First-year Shinwon would have never been caught dead studying on a Saturday, and neither would have his dormmates; the weekend was for relaxing, not piling on more work than necessary. Second-year Shinwon, however, knew that the criteria for passing this year was stricter than the last—and so did Changgu, who needed help studying, and whose stare, it turned out, could be terrifying. On the first Saturday after term started, Shinwon found himself sat in the living room on the same sofa as Changgu, both with their laptops in their laps and a pile of textbooks and novels on the table. All of Shinwon’s novels were books written in the past two decades, but Changgu’s were all classical novels. Only their textbooks were the same, and they were studying together the chapter their lecturer wanted them to read, in preparation for their next lesson.

At least there was the house warming party taking place tomorrow. Hwitaek had organised it for him and Changgu, and he’d been eager for them to invite their friends and classmates over. From the way he’d been talking, it sounded as if he’d managed to secure his entire class to come over.

“I need a break,” said Shinwon, as he dumped the textbook onto the table. He flopped into the back of the sofa, and looked up at the ceiling. “It’s doing my head in. I don’t know how to read anymore.”

He turned to look at Changgu. The latter looked like he wanted to keep going, but then he too sighed and put the textbook down.

“I need one as well,” he said. He closed his laptop lid, and for a few seconds, neither of them said anything. “You looking forward to the party tomorrow?”

“Absolutely. I was going to organise one if Hwitaek hadn’t already done it.”

“It sounds like you love a good party.”

“I love them. What about you?”

“They’re not really my thing.” Changgu shrugged. “I’ll go to one every now and then.”

“Yeah,” said Shinwon. The answer didn’t surprise him; one of the first things he’d learnt about Changgu was that he always went to bed early.

“I need the toilet.” Changgu stood up, and stretched. “We should keep going when I come back.”

“OK,” said Shinwon, and he tucked his legs in to let Changgu step past him. He opened his laptop again, and was about to search for a funny video to take his mind off the work, when he heard Changgu say something from the doorway.

“I thought you were studying?” came Hwitaek’s voice from outside. Shinwon sat up straightaway.

“Yeah, I’ll get back to it in a bit,” he heard Changgu say.

The first time Shinwon had met Hwitaek was when he moved in. Before, all Shinwon had known was that Hwitaek was a music student in the year above him, but he’d had a rough idea of what he looked like from the many, _many_ photos on his Facebook—mainly he had a cute face that looked even sweeter when he smiled, and he loved dying his hair. In most photos, his hair was golden-brown, but he’d also sported blue, orange, red, and pink hair before. In person, Hwitaek looked the same except for two points; he was much shorter than his photos implied; and he was perhaps the most beautiful person to have ever existed. His hair was dark blue, but it suited him so well that Shinwon thought it was unfair how any hair colour looked good on him.

At first, Shinwon had tried to convince himself that he just had a very fond regard for Hwitaek. It was perfectly normal for two people to connect on a platonic level, he tried to tell himself. His last two dreams, however, told a very different story. As he watched Hwitaek sit down, he momentarily wondered what it would look like to have that mass of blue hair in-between his legs—and he rearranged his laptop on his lap, and pressed his legs together even tighter, just in case.

“We needed a break,” said Shinwon, as he watched Hwitaek sit down on the sofa opposite theirs. “Unless you fancy going through the textbook with us?”

If Hwitaek noticed anything, he didn’t say; instead, he leaned over to pick up Shinwon’s textbook.

“It looks complicated,” he said, as he flicked through the pages. “I never knew you needed all this for Korean Literature and Language.”

“It’s only because we’re studying stuff about theories and criticism. I bet you’ve got something equally as boring on your course.”

Hwitaek laughed, and Shinwon felt his heart flutter. He couldn’t get over how adorably round and even his laughing face was, or how his eyes narrowed into perfect crescents.

“You don’t even want to go there,” said Hwitaek.

“We should have, like, a study session together. Maybe we could help you as well, hyung.”

“I’m OK, but I’ll help you guys if you need me.”

“We should get Jinho down here as well. I haven’t really seen him since uni started again.”

Hwitaek shook his head. “It’s better to leave him alone. He likes to study in his own room.”

“We _are_ going to see him tomorrow, aren’t we?”

“You will.” Hwitaek’s face brightened. “He’s even more excited now that he knows Hyojong-ie and Hyuna nuna are coming.”

“Didn’t they live here before us?”

Hwitaek nodded. “They can’t wait to meet you both. At least it’ll stop Hyojong-ie worrying that we’re now sharing with psychopaths.”

Shinwon snorted. “That’s a funny concern. He sounds interesting.”

“It was fun sharing with him.” Hwitaek shuffled forward until he was sat on the edge of the sofa. “Come on, let’s get through your textbook first. I’ll tell you all about Hyojong later.”

***

The party wasn’t due to start until two o’clock, but the first time the doorbell rang was at 15 minutes to two.

Shinwon was in the kitchen with Changgu and Jinho, busy organising all the drinks and glasses on the table, when the doorbell went. He looked up; the kitchen door was parallel to the side of the bottom of the stairs, and he watched as Hwitaek ran down to answer the front door. What came next was a series of delighted squeals and yells, and a loud voice saying—

“Where are the poor bastards?”

Shinwon noticed how Jinho’s face lit up as he recognised the voice. He still found it amusing how he’d ended up living with two people half a foot shorter than him. Jinho was the personification of adorable, from his short height to his fluffed up hair to those doll-like eyes complimenting his cute smile and cheeks. Hell, when he smiled, he looked similar to Hwitaek.

“They’re here already,” said Jinho. Changgu moved aside to let him leave the kitchen before following him, and Shinwon bought up the rear.

Everyone was gathered around the now-shut front door, busy hugging each other. By their feet were two bags containing a further assortment of drinks. Hyojong stood out first with his head of blond hair, but then Shinwon was drawn to how beautiful Hyuna was as she introduced herself to them. In a matter of seconds, Shinwon discovered that they were both music students, although Hyuna was in her last year now, and they had started dating the week before Christmas last year.

“Who’s staying where?” said Hyojong. “Who’s got the room opposite Jinho-ya’s?”

“I do,” said Shinwon.

“That’s my old room." Hyojong grinned. "Don’t worry, I got someone to give the room a good clean before we left.”

Shinwon blinked. “Remind me to buy some more Dettol later on.”

Hyojong cackled. Shinwon could start to see why Hwitaek had been so fond of him.

“Ah, I was so worried things would get quiet around here,” said Hyojong. He looked at Jinho first before turning to Hwitaek. “Oh, yeah, how’re things between you—?”

Before he could finish, Hwitaek began to wave his hand in front of his face. Shinwon noticed Jinho shrugging his shoulders.

“We’re still the same,” said Hwitaek. “We’re still good.”

“We’re glad to hear it,” said Hyuna, as she clenched Hyojong’s arm. The latter turned his head to look at Shinwon and Changgu, and then at Hwitaek and Jinho again. There was a glint in his eye that Shinwon didn’t quite know how to read. “Baby, help me carry the drinks into the living room, yeah?”

Shinwon noticed Hwitaek exhale the moment Hyojong bent over to pick up the bags, although Jinho was still looking alert. He looked over at Changgu, who raised his eyebrows and then lowered them just as fast.

“You didn’t need to buy all this,” said Jinho, as he led the way into the living room. His voice sounded tense. “We’ve got our own drinks.”

“Jinho, darling, you can never have too many drinks at a party,” said Hyuna.

“Anyway, I was worried I wouldn’t see you today,” said Hyojong. “I thought you’d be stuck in your room revising.”

“I had to see you again,” said Jinho. His body was relaxed, but his smile felt strained. “It’s been too long.”

“Uh-huh.” Hyojong nodded. “I bet we were the _last_ people you missed over the summer.”

“Hey, that’s not true,” said Hwitaek. His voice had gone up a pitch. “I bet he missed you more than a whole load of people.”

“Baby, you’re not holding the bag properly,” said Hyuna.

“What?” said Hyojong, “I am.”

He dumped the bags on the table; and as a group, they pulled out all the drinks that Hyojong and Hyuna had bought along with them. Shinwon really hoped that Hwitaek had invited loads of classmates around; he could already sense an impending hangover just from looking at all the bottles.

The next time the doorbell rang was at five minutes past two; and from that moment on, a steady stream of people began to pile into the house. Shinwon spent the first hour of the party meeting what felt like a thousand people, most of whom were classmates or friends of Hwitaek and Hyojong; and since he wasn’t able to remember a thousand names in one go, he decided to remember only the names of the people who drank as much as he did. As it turned out, the only people who he really stuck to were Hyojong and Hyuna, who seemed to love plying drinks to other people while remaining glued to each other.

“I really don’t think I should,” Jinho tried to protest, when they had him trapped in the corner with a glass full of, well, something pressed up to his chest.

“Come on,” said Hyojong, “you need to loosen up.”

Jinho swallowed, and then grabbed the glass and closed his eyes as he downed the drink in one go. Shinwon gaped as he saw his Adam’s apple bobbing away. Jinho didn’t open his eyes again until he handed the empty glass back to Hyojong; and Shinwon was drawn to the hardened glare in his eyes, so full of fire that it didn’t sit right with his adorable face.

“I can get my own drinks,” said Jinho, and he walked away.

“He works too hard,” was Hyojong’s comment, once Jinho was out of earshot. He jabbed his finger at Shinwon’s chest. “You need to make sure Jinho doesn’t get lost in his studies. Haul him out of his room at least once a week.”

“He leaves for classes,” said Shinwon, as he lifted Hyojong’s finger off his chest.

“That’s the only thing he’ll leave his room for,” said Hyuna. “Hyojong was the only person who could actually get him out for a few hours for something else.”

“And since I don’t live here anymore, the responsibility now falls on you,” said Hyojong.

Shinwon started. “Why me?”

“Cause Hwitaek-ie’s rubbish at it, and I haven’t spoken to Changgu since the party started.” Hyojong shrugged. “It’s up to you now.”

Hwitaek joined them every now and then, but there were a few occasions where he just passed them by. The crowded room, however, meant that he brushed up against Shinwon a few times. Every time it happened, Shinwon could feel himself blushing; and to his relief, nobody pointed it out.

Shinwon left the living room at some point to grab a fresh glass from the kitchen. He was passing by the front door when he heard the doorbell ring, and he opened it. He was prepared to face someone he’d never met before—maybe one of Jinho’s classmates, since it seemed like none of them had turned up—but he squealed when he saw Hongseok standing on the other side, and he jumped into his friend’s arms.

“You’re here—” was all Shinwon said, before Hongseok spun him around on the spot.

“Sorry I’m late,” said Hongseok, as he put Shinwon down. “I went home to shower first. I didn’t want to stink out your party.”

Shinwon laughed, and stepped aside to let him in. “Don’t worry about it. No one would’ve noticed anyway. Let me get you a drink.”

“OK,” said Hongseok, and Shinwon led him into the kitchen.

There were five other students inside the kitchen, but the only person Shinwon recognised was Changgu, who was shutting the fridge. The latter turned around, and his eyes widened as he began to smile. Shinwon looked behind him to see Hongseok staring at him with his mouth open.

“You know each other?” said Shinwon.

“I think I've seen you somewhere before,” said Hongseok, his focus fully on Changgu. “Do you go to the gym?”

“I do,” said Changgu, and he held out his hand as his smile widened. Bags appeared under his eyes; and there was a second where Shinwon thought he would have to catch Hongseok. “I’ve seen you there a few times as well. I’m Yeo Changgu.”

Shinwon frowned as he watched them shake hands. “You don’t know each other?” he said.

“We’ve seen each other at the gym a couple of times, but we’ve never talked,” said Changgu. “Are you two friends?”

“We’ve known each other since high school.”

Changgu clasped his hands together as his eyes darted between them both, his glare now full of wonder and surprise.

“Wow,” he said, after a while, “it really is a small world, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is,” said Hongseok, although his tone was airy and distant. “What’re you studying?”

“Korean Literature and Language.”

Hongseok frowned, and then he turned to face Shinwon for the first time since entering the kitchen. “Isn’t that your course?” he said.

“We’re classmates _and_ housemates,” said Shinwon, grinning. Hongseok gaped. Shinwon could sense quite a few questions forming in his friend’s mind, and he added, “We didn’t know we were housemates until we moved in.”

“Yeah, not a clue,” said Changgu. “It was kind of funny, actually. I was here first, and then I saw Shinwon, and at first, I thought that he was probably my neighbour or something. Then he asked me if I was moving into here, and that was when we found out we’re living together.”

“Seriously?” said Hongseok. He glared at Shinwon. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I did,” said Shinwon. “I told you ages ago. Check your Kakao, it’s on there.” To be fair, he hadn’t named Changgu; he’d just said that he was living with a classmate.

“Have you met Hwitaek and Jinho yet?” said Changgu.

Hongseok shook his head. “I’ve only just got here,” he said. “Who are they?”

“They’re our other housemates—”

They were interrupted by the sound of the door banging, and the three of them turned around to see Jinho, who was now red in the face and neck, kneeling against the doorframe of the kitchen. A few seconds later, Hwitaek appeared, and he hooked his arms around Jinho’s chest to help him back onto his feet.

“That’s Jinho,” said Shinwon, “and the person picking him up now is Hwitaek.”

“I’m not drunk,” said Jinho, in a slurred voice.

“Yes, you are,” said Hwitaek. His legs were apart and bent at the knees as he hoisted Jinho up. He managed to get Jinho to sling one arm around his shoulders, and he released one hand from his chest to grab his wrist.

“I’m going to murder Hyojong,” Hwitaek continued through gritted teeth, as he pulled Jinho away from the kitchen.

“I’ll introduce them to you later,” said Shinwon. He watched as Hwitaek began to heave Jinho upstairs. The latter was staggering next to him, and he was barely just raising his legs high enough to walk up without tripping.

“How was your summer?” said Changgu, and it took Shinwon a second to realise that he was speaking to Hongseok.

“It was great,” said Hongseok. Shinwon listened as he recited to Changgu everything that he’d already told him, but then a grin appeared on his face as he realised how red Hongseok’s ears were turning the more he spoke. Then Hongseok eyed him, and he started.

“Shinwon—” said Hongseok, before there was a pause. His eyes darted to Changgu for a moment, and then he looked back. “Didn’t you say you had some souvenirs for me? From Japan?”

“Yeah, I do,” said Shinwon. “They’re in my room. I’ll be back in a second.”

A plan formed in Shinwon’s head as he ran up the stairs. He was going to spend a bit longer in his room, under the pretence that he was searching for the souvenirs when, really, he was going to use the time to incessantly text Hongseok and tease him about Changgu. He could picture Hongseok getting flustered, and then getting even more tongue tied once Changgu started to ask what was wrong.

There were only five rooms upstairs, separated by the hallway; two doors on the left, and three on the right. Shinwon’s room was at the end on the left, and his door was adjacent to Jinho’s. The upstairs toilet separated Jinho’s room from Hwitaek’s, and Changgu occupied the first room on the left. The moment Shinwon stepped onto the landing, he heard Jinho speaking from inside Hwitaek’s room.

“I like your hair. It looks good on you.”

Shinwon should have kept walking past, but the bedroom door was open, and his curiosity got the better of him. He stuck his head past the doorframe just enough to look into the room, and his eyes widened. Hwitaek was sitting on the bed, with Jinho in his lap and his arms around his waist. Jinho was slowly combing both hands through Hwitaek’s hair, his thumbs brushing the strands aside like he was checking the roots as well. His glare wasn’t fully focused, though, and his face was now pink.

“I know,” said Hwitaek, smiling, “you’ve told me already.”

“What?” Jinho frowned. “When did I say that?” He leaned in and began to plant sloppy kisses along Hwitaek’s neck and jaw.

Hwitaek shut his eyes as he tilted his head back a little. His Adam’s apple bobbed, like he’d been swallowing a moan. “When we first came back, the day before Shinwon and Changgu moved in.”

Jinho pressed a kiss to his earlobe as he giggled. “You know, I think I did.”

“You’re pissed, Jinho-ya.” Hwitaek opened his eyes, and he raised one of his arms to stroke the back of Jinho’s head.

“I wanna say it again. You look good with blue hair. You look _really_ good.” Jinho shifted to straddle his thighs.

Shinwon felt his heart sink as he saw how much affection was in Hwitaek’s eyes, and the joy on his face, and his smile. He didn’t dare breathe, in case it alerted them; and as much as a part of him wanted to walk off to the party again and pretend nothing was happening upstairs, his legs felt rooted to the spot as his whole body seemed to freeze, unwilling to move away from the scene.

He watched Jinho’s eyes close as he leaned in, and his lips met Hwitaek’s. His hands were clenching fistfuls of Hwitaek’s hair as his body pushed up against his, their lips parted wide and moving. Jinho’s tongue darted into Hwitaek’s mouth as he moaned, his voice just about drowning out the higher, quieter whines coming from the back of the other man’s throat. When they were silent, there was still the sound of them kissing, and the ruffling of the bedsheets as they pressed up even closer to each other.

Shinwon started when he felt somebody walk past him, and he clasped his own hands over his mouth as he turned his head. Changgu was frowning at him, but then he stopped when he noticed what was happening in the room, and his eyes widened as he retreated a second later. He opted to crouch down and look past Shinwon’s legs, his mouth now hanging open.

“Hwitaek-ie,” he heard Jinho say, and he turned back to the room. “I have to know, does the carpet match the curtains?”

“Do you want to find out again?”

“I’d like to.” Jinho let go of Hwitaek’s hair, and he pushed him down onto the bed. When Hwitaek fell over, his shirt rode up a little to expose a slither of his stomach. Shinwon bit his lip as he watched Jinho snake a hand up his shirt, and he could make out the outline of his fingers toying with Hwitaek’s right nipple as he laid on top of him again to kiss the left side of his neck. Jinho slipped a leg in-between Hwitaek’s, and he began to gently roll his hips. Hwitaek moaned out loud as he tossed his head back; his eyes were screwed shut, and his whole body seemed to sink deeper into the mattress.

Shinwon felt Changgu tap his leg, and then he sensed him disappearing down the stairs again. He shut his eyes, knowing that he would never leave if he kept watching them, and then all feeling seemed to return to his legs as he tiptoed down the stairs. His hands trembled, but he tried to convince himself it was because they were still clasped tight over his mouth, rather than the realisation that Hwitaek wasn’t single, that he’d been pining over someone’s boyfriend for a fortnight.

Changgu was still at the bottom of the stairs when Shinwon joined him. His eyes were wide and spaced out, and his mouth kept moving even though he wasn’t saying anything. They made eye contact, and Changgu’s face reddened as Shinwon’s arms dropped to his sides.

“They’re dating—” said Changgu.

“Did you see that—?” said Shinwon, at the same time.

Changgu frowned. “Why didn’t they say anything?”

“Maybe they wanted to wait until they knew us better?”

“They don’t seem like the type to hide stuff. They would’ve told us from the start.”

Shinwon also frowned. “Unless … they’re not dating? They’re, like, friends with benefits?”

“Hey—” Hyojong’s voice was so loud and clear that both Shinwon and Changgu jumped. Shinwon turned around to see him approaching them. Hyuna had her arms around his hips, and he had one arm across her shoulders. “Have you seen Hwitaek-ie or Jinho-ya anywhere? We’ve got a whole bottle of soju with their names written all over it, and the folks here would really like to open it.”

Shinwon just looked at him, not entirely sure what to say. Hyojong and Hyuna might have lived here before them, but what if they had moved out after Hwitaek and Jinho had started? On the other hand, what if this was what Hyojong had tried to ask Hwitaek earlier? He watched as Hyojong looked at him, and then at Changgu, and then at the stairs.

“Are you boys OK?” said Hyuna, frowning. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I get it,” said Hyojong, with a wide grin on his face. “They’re, erm—” He whistled sharply. “—upstairs, aren’t they?”

Shinwon nodded. OK, so they did know. He had no idea whether it made things better or worse that Hwitaek had been going out with Jinho for months. He was thankful, at least, that they’d told him before they had only known each other since they moved in last year. . He would have had a breakdown right by Hwitaek’s room if they’d known each other for years.

Hyojong burst out laughing. “Oh my god, they haven’t told you yet, have they?” He slapped the banister, and he probably would have doubled over if Hyuna wasn’t leaning on him.

“So…” said Changgu, “are they … they’re boyfriends?”

“Nope, they’re fuckbuddies.”

“Kim Hyojong, stop being so crude,” said Hyuna as she slapped his hips with both hands. “We’ve discussed this. They’re idiots who don’t know they’re boyfriends yet.”

Hyojong shrugged. “Doesn’t make a difference, babe.”

Hyuna rolled her eyes, evidently deciding that Hyojong didn’t deserve an answer. Not that her boyfriend seemed to have noticed; he was busy pointing at the kitchen door, and he looked proud.

“I started it here,” he said. “I hung some mistletoe above that door, cause it was nearly Christmas and I thought we weren’t behaving very Christmassy. Hwitaek-ie was in the kitchen when I put it up, and he saw me, and I was waiting for him to come to the door to ask what I was doing—don’t look at me like that, babe, I wasn’t going to stick my tongue in—but then my baby called me from the living room. Next thing I know, Jinho-ya tried to enter the kitchen as Hwitaek-ie tried to leave it, and off they went like rabbits.”

Shinwon wished that Hyojong’s description wasn’t so graphic. He could picture Hwitaek and Jinho standing under the door, snogging away, and it did look an awfully lot like what he’d just seen.

“Hyojong-ie, stop going into so much detail,” said Hyuna. “Look at what you’re doing to Shinwon.”

Shinwon started, and then recovered fast enough to say, “Yeah, that was way too much.”

“I think we should move this back to ours, don’t you think, babe?” said Hyojong. “Those two are getting all rumpy pumpy up there, and I’m dying to show everyone around ours.”

“I think we should,” said Hyuna. “Let’s round everyone up.”

“We’ll help,” Changgu added.

“Great, remember to take all the drinks with you,” said Hyojong, as he and Hyuna started to disappear into the living room. “Especially the soju.”

Shinwon nodded, just as eager. It would be nice to have a change of scenery, he thought. He wouldn’t have to worry about overhearing any noises from Jinho or Hwitaek, and his mind would be way too occupied for him to picture just what exactly they were getting up to in Hwitaek’s room.

Then he glanced at the kitchen door, and his heart just sank all over again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinwon makes a plan.

Hyojong and Hyuna’s house was close to the town center, so they were only 20 minutes away by foot, but Shinwon and Changgu were the last partygoers to leave their house, shortly after seven o’clock. Following a detour to McDonald’s, where they discussed how they were going to subtly approach Hwitaek and Jinho to tell them the truth about their relationship, they didn’t return to their house until half eight.

The first thing Shinwon noticed was that the kitchen light was on, and he walked in to find Hwitaek and Jinho—thankfully both fully clothed—sat at the table and eating their dinner. Jinho’s eyes widened, and Hwitaek started to look nervous. Changgu greeted them first as he sat down in the nearest seat, and Shinwon copied him.

“Hey,” said Hwitaek, as he rigidly smiled. “We wondered when you’d get back. Where did you go?”

“We went to Hyojong’s and Hyuna’s new place,” said Shinwon. He tried to ignore how tousled Hwitaek’s hair looked, or how they were both dressed like they’d pulled their clothes on in a hurry, or how both their lips seemed to be plumper than before. “It was nice.”

“Nice,” said Hwitaek, as he made eye contact with the chopsticks he was loosely clutching. “Hyojong-ie keeps going on about how nice it is.”

“It was.”

Jinho sighed as he put his chopsticks down, instantly drawing Shinwon and Changgu’s attentions. His shoulders were tense.

“You know, don’t you?” said Jinho. His voice was hoarse. “You know about us.”

Well, that was their plan out the window. Shinwon slouched a little, pleased that Jinho had been so direct. Had it just been Hwitaek there, he figured they would’ve had to endure more awkward silences and small talk.

“We saw you upstairs,” said Changgu.

“Please tell me you didn’t see anything,” said Hwitaek, as he began to fiddle his chopsticks with both hands. Shinwon had no idea what was stinging him more right now; the fact that Hwitaek looked so pitiful, like a six-year-old who was in trouble with the headmaster, or the fact that he was now part of a love triangle, competing with someone who was just as adorable as Hwitaek.

“We only saw you kissing,” said Shinwon. Hwitaek looked up at his words, now with eyes as wide as Jinho’s. “Please tell _me_ you shut your door at some point.”

“We … kind of … forgot…” Hwitaek’s face reddened, and Shinwon turned away to pull a face. At least he’d walked in on them early. He probably would have died on the spot if he’d gone upstairs five minutes later.

“We’re not dating,” said Jinho. He was staring at them both, and seemed to be trying his best to ignore Hwitaek next to him. “We’re not boyfriends.”

Shinwon looked back at Hwitaek. He was nodding, but his eyes were fixed on his chopsticks again, and Shinwon could just about see how tightly his lips were pursed together.

“Does that mean you’re friends with benefits?” said Changgu.

“Yeah, we are. We were going to tell you. We just didn’t expect you to walk in on us so soon.”

“Don’t stress over it,” said Shinwon. He tried his best to smile. “I just want to know how you managed to pull someone that cute.” He felt Changgu slap his knee, but both Hwitaek and Jinho giggled. At least he got a laugh, he thought, as he tried to ignore how they both reacted at the same time.

“What? I’m serious,” continued Shinwon, as he looked at Changgu. The latter’s mouth was open like he was ready to argue back. “You should’ve seen my ex. Everyone in this house looks like heaven itself next to him.”

“Your ex can’t have been _that_ ugly,” said Jinho. He had relaxed his body, but he was still looking straight ahead.

Shinwon shook his head. “Oh, trust me, he was. I honestly don’t know why I decided to date him.” He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. “I’ve got a picture of him on here somewhere, I’ll show you.”

Shinwon didn’t mind the barrage of jokes that fell his way. What mattered was that the conversation evolved into other subjects, and any remaining tension eased away. They didn’t touch upon Hwitaek and Jinho’s relationship again for the evening; but Shinwon still found it difficult to fall asleep that night.

***

Even though Shinwon and Changgu were classmates, their schedules were different. Their shared courses took place on Tuesday and Thursday; and although they were both required to go in on Friday, Changgu’s course happened in the morning, and Shinwon’s in the afternoon. Changgu had one more course on Wednesday, but Shinwon had to wake up early on a Monday.

Sometimes, their schedules overlapped with Hwitaek’s or Jinho’s. A week ago, Shinwon had been delighted to discover that Hwitaek also had a course on Monday morning, and he’d spent a very happy thirty minutes walking up to campus while chatting and laughing away at everything Hwitaek said. Now, though, Shinwon wasn’t sure how to feel. He didn’t want every single conversation revolving around Hwitaek’s love life; he still had lots to find out about Hwitaek, and he wanted things to return to the way they had been just last week.

It would have made things easier if Hwitaek’s eyes didn’t keep flickering at him, or if his body didn’t tense up every few seconds, or if he could just stop playing with the straps of his backpack for a minute. Shinwon tried to make small talk with him, but there were only so many times he could comment on the clear sky before it became too obvious that they were skating around a certain subject.

“Look,” said Hwitaek, after taking in a deep breath, “I really like living with you and Changgu. I know we haven’t been housemates for long, but it feels really nice already. I know we should’ve told you earlier, and we honestly were going to, and I’m just sorry that you had to find out that way yesterday.”

“You don’t need to explain,” said Shinwon, in what he hoped was a nonchalant tone. “We’re cool with it. It was just unexpected.” He smiled when he noticed Hwitaek had stopped fiddling with his straps.

“We’re not getting it on all the time. It only happens, like, once every few months.”

Shinwon cocked his head. It should have been reassuring, knowing that they weren’t too regular, but it was making things worse, somehow. “Have you ever tried asking him if he wants to be more than just a hook up?” he said.

Hwitaek shook his head. He didn’t make eye contact as he said, “This works for both of us. Jinho’s got his studies, I’ve got mine, and we don’t get in each other’s way.”

“Would you _like_ him to be something more?”

Hwitaek kept his eyes on the ground, but Shinwon could tell that his cheeks were bright red. As much as he hated asking, he needed to know where he stood, because he would rather try his hardest to persuade Jinho and Hwitaek into becoming a couple, rather than being accused of stealing someone’s partner in the future.

“Well,” said Hwitaek, “it … it would be nice to … to have a boyfriend, I guess.”

Shinwon pursed his lips. Did he stand a chance with Hwitaek? The thing was, he was technically single. Hwitaek could turn around now and announce he was dating someone else and it would be fine, because Jinho wasn’t his boyfriend. He could get into bed with Hwitaek tonight, and it would be fine.

“Are you alright?” he heard Hwitaek say.

OK, maybe that last thought wasn’t so good. Shinwon started and he instantly glanced down—at least his jeans still looked like they fitted. That was the main thing.

“I’m fine,” said Shinwon. He hoped he hadn’t looked too weird. “Don’t beat yourself up. I bet you there’re other students on campus having worse flings right now. At least you’re with someone cute.”

Hwitaek blushed. “Do you really think he’s cute?”

“Yeah,” was all Shinwon trusted himself to say. If he continued talking, he was probably going to run his mouth and say something like “but you’re cuter”, or “I prefer you”, or even “do you want to be my boyfriend?”. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and blurted out the first question he could think of, which was, “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, of course.” Hwitaek didn’t seem to notice anything.

It took Shinwon a few seconds before he said, “What’s your favourite colour?”

Hwitaek looked bemused. “What’s my favourite colour?” he repeated.

“Yeah, everyone’s got a favourite.” It would have helped if Shinwon’s tone wasn’t all over the place. “I bet I could guess yours.”

Hwitaek smiled. “Go on,” he said, in a higher pitch. “What do you think my favourite colour is?”

Shinwon hesitated as he wondered just how high Hwitaek could make his voice sound if he asked him to perform aegyo. When he came to his senses, he said, “Blue.”

Hwitaek burst out laughing as he placed a hand on Shinwon’s shoulder. The latter blushed; he should have taken his hand off him straightaway, but at the same time, he loved how Hwitaek seemed unable to keep his hands to himself once he was more comfortable with people.

“You said that cause of my hair,” said Hwitaek.

“Well, I saw a picture of you with blue hair before,” said Shinwon, as he clasped his own hand over Hwitaek’s. He meant to take it off, but he figured it couldn’t hurt just keeping their hands like that for a bit longer. “Blue really suits you. You should keep it like that.” He had an urge to ruffle his hand through Hwitaek’s hair, but he ended up gripping his hand even tighter instead.

“I was going to change it next month.” Hwitaek’s smile seemed to falter, like he was embarrassed. “I was thinking of dying it orange for Halloween.”

Shinwon gawped. “You want to be a pumpkin?”

Hwitaek laughed as he slid his hand off Shinwon’s shoulders, and lightly slapped his forearm with both hands.

“Not like that,” said Hwitaek.

Shinwon dropped his arm. “You should dye your hair green. Then you can wear a pumpkin costume, and really look like one.”

“I’m not dressing up as a pumpkin.”

“I bet you’re thinking about it now.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Ya!” Hwitaek leaned on Shinwon as he burst into a fresh wave of giggles. He seemed to be bouncing with each step, as he widely smiled. Shinwon had a hard time taking his eyes off his adorable, round face, even after they reached the campus and went their separate ways.

***

Shinwon’s class ended at 11 o’clock, but Hwitaek had another class afterwards. Like last week, Shinwon whiled the time away by going to the student bar and buying himself a drink. Unlike last week, this time, he was there to meet up with Hongseok.

Shinwon didn’t need to search very far to find his friend already waiting for him, with a pint and an opened pack of crisps on the table. He sat down opposite him, and took care in placing his drink on the table before he dumped his bag onto the chair next to him. He unzipped his bag to pull out the small plastic bag full of souvenirs that he’d forgotten about yesterday, from the moment he’d walked in on Hwitaek and Jinho.

“Firstly, there’s your souvenirs,” said Shinwon, as he slid the bag across the table. “Secondly, you’re welcome.”

Hongseok frowned as he raised his glass to his lips. “What do you mean?”

“I know what you’re going to say. ‘Thank you, Shinwon, for inviting me to the party and giving me the chance to talk to that super fit student from the gym, and when I eventually get married to Changgu, you’re the first person I’ll invite to our wedding’.”

Hongseok gagged as he put his drink down, and covered his hand with his mouth. Shinwon was about to rummage through his bag for some tissues when Hongseok managed to swallow, and he coughed as his eyes watered.

“I don’t—” Hongseok coughed. “I don’t know what you’re—”

Shinwon rolled his eyes. “Hongseok-ie, you practically didn’t talk to anyone else yesterday. You didn’t even ask us why Hwitaek and Jinho weren’t there.”

“They didn’t follow us to Hyojong and Hyuna’s?”

“You see?”

“Why didn’t they come with us?”

Shinwon waved his hand, hoping to distract from the fact that it was his turn to blush.

“They had stuff to do,” he said. “Anyway, this isn’t about them, this is about you and Changgu.” He propped his elbows on the table, and leaned forwards. “So, what’s the gossip? When are you coming round again?”

“Hold on. We’re not anything. We’re just people who met once at a party.”

“At least you know each other now.” Shinwon leaned so far down that he was almost flat on the table. “Wait, are you _embarrassed_?”

“No.” Hongseok’s tone was so defensive that Shinwon cackled.

“Oh my god, you _are_.”

“I said I’m not.” There was no conviction in Hongseok’s voice. Shinwon almost fell off his seat as his eyes watered from how much he was laughing.

“I can’t believe this.” Shinwon paused to catch his breath back. “How did you ever manage to pull the hottest guy in high school?”

“That was different.” Hongseok wasn’t looking at him. “He was hot, but he was an asshole. He was nowhere near as cute as Changgu.”

Shinwon shrugged as he calmed down. “Well, Changgu is a decent person. I think you two would get along really well.”

Hongseok’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’re living with him.”

“Yeah.” Shinwon frowned, unsure what this had to do with anything.

“You shouldn’t know all this.”

Shinwon rolled his eyes. “You’ve known me for years now. Do you really think I’d tell him?” he said. “Anyway, I’ve told you before, I’m not close to Changgu. I might as well be living with three strangers.”

Hongseok nodded, and he drank from his pint.

“It can’t be that bad. He was clearly checking you out as well.” Shinwon had to hold in a laugh when he saw how Hongseok was trying his hardest not to react. “He recognised you the moment he saw you.”

Hongseok spluttered as he choked for the second time.

“Shinwon-ie, _please_ , stop saying stuff like that when I’m drinking,” said Hongseok, once he’d recovered. He dabbed his eyes dry.

“I’m only being honest,” said Shinwon, now with a wide grin on his face.

“Stop being honest.”

“Oh, that’s a shame.” Shinwon reclined into the seat and crossed his arms, just as Hongseok’s eyes narrowed. “I was going to suggest you should come over to ours on Saturday and watch a film with me and Changgu and Hwitaek and Jinho, but since you don’t want me to be honest…”

“Well…” Hongseok shifted in his seat. “I didn’t really get to see your house properly yesterday.”

“Exactly. Changgu can guide you around. I’ll prepare four bowls of popcorn, so you and Changgu can share one and get all handsy with each other and then make kissy faces and then get married before you even graduate.”

“You’re going way too fast.”

Shinwon shrugged. “OK, we can take things slower. I’ll sit next you next to Changgu for the film, and I’ll put in your lap a bowl of popcorn that’s got the bottom cut out—”

Hongseok chucked the crisp packet at him. Shinwon still flinched, even though it landed nowhere near him.

“OK, _OK_ , I get it,” said Shinwon. “You want to be so romantic that you never confess to Changgu, and your unconsummated love becomes your life’s main burden and regret, and you both die alone and heartbroken and buried in different graveyards. Got you.”

“Remind me why I’m friends with you,” said Hongseok, and he pushed his own drink away from him like it was a precaution to whatever reply was about to erupt from Shinwon’s mouth.

“I’m the only person you know who’d stay behind after classes to get a drink with you,” said Shinwon, and he lifted up his own glass. He nodded his head once; and after a pause, Hongseok raised his drink to clink with Shinwon’s. “Here’s to a good year ahead of us, Hongseok-ie. Cheers.”

“Cheers,” said Hongseok, but he waited for Shinwon to drink first before taking a sip.

“Also,” Shinwon continued, now talking faster than usual, “I know when you want to get laid—” He burst out laughing the moment he saw Hongseok choke for the third time.

“Goddammit, Shinwon.”

***

Shinwon only left the bar when Hwitaek was finished, and after a quick shop around a nearby 7-Eleven, they returned home together. As predicted, Hwitaek was delighted with the idea of Hongseok coming to the house that weekend.

“I didn’t actually meet him at the party, did I?” said Hwitaek.

Shinwon tried not to blush. “He saw you for, like, a second. He was in the kitchen with me when you helped Jinho up the stairs.”

Hwitaek’s cheeks reddened. “Really?”

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t know. He’s really looking forward to meeting you properly.”

“Tell him I can’t wait to meet him as well.”

“I already have,” said Shinwon, grinning. Hwitaek laughed.

“You know me so well already,” said Hwitaek. His eyes had formed into crescents again. Shinwon stared so much at him that he started when Hwitaek shoved him, and he turned his head to notice the lamppost that he’d almost walked into.

When they returned home, the first thing they did was go upstairs. They were halfway up when Shinwon heard a door open and he saw Changgu leave his room.

“You’re back,” said Changgu, the moment he made eye contact with Shinwon. “I’m stuck. I need to revise with someone.”

“Let me dump my bag first,” said Shinwon. There was something about the way Changgu was looking at him that made Shinwon question whether he was genuinely stuck, or if it was an excuse for something else.

“I’ll come with you.”

Shinwon looked at Hwitaek, who didn’t seem to think anything of Changgu’s behaviour. He kept on walking to his room, now aware that Changgu seemed to be boring holes in the back of his head with his stare. He tried to shrug it off—he’d only said he needed to revise with somebody—and he tried to keep up the pretence as he held his bedroom door open for Changgu to follow him in.

“Let me grab my books,” said Shinwon, as he slid his bag off his back. He dumped it on the chair as he heard his door close shut. He was about to lean over to pick up a textbook from the desk when Changgu spoke in a lowered voice.

“What do you think about the whole thing between Jinho and Hwitaek?”

Shinwon turned around and shrugged. “They’re happy keeping it the way it is right now.”

“I don’t know about you, but I get the impression they don’t want to stay like that.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I talked to Jinho today. He didn’t say too much, but I read between the lines.”

“You want to do something about it?”

Changgu paused before answering, “I wouldn’t mind trying if there’s something we can do.”

“I’ve got an idea.” Shinwon grinned. “Hongseok wants to hang out with us on Saturday, and I said I’d put a film on for us. I’ll find a really good horror film, and Jinho and Hwitaek can sit next to each other and get so scared they’ll blurt out their true feelings for each other.”

Changgu didn’t look impressed. “Isn’t that cliched?”

“Yeah, but it works. We’ll sit on the same sofa, and I’ll even put Hongseok in-between us.” Shinwon winked.

“What was that wink for?”

“I thought you might want to know Hongseok a bit more. I could see you two really got on yesterday.”

Changgu nodded. “Let’s try it.”

“Excellent.” Shinwon glanced at his desk. “What did you want to revise?”

“That doesn’t matter anymore. I’ll manage on my own. By the way, I’m going to head to the gym tomorrow morning, before our class.”

Shinwon perked up at his words, and then shrugged to mask his movements. The last thing he needed right now was for Changgu to suspect he was playing matchmaker here—or, even worse, create a misunderstanding that he was interested in the gym.

“You off to the student gym again?” he said, as he tried to keep his tone casual. Changgu nodded as a slight frown crossed his face. “I’ll see you later, then.”

There was a knock from outside, and for a second, Shinwon thought that it was for him, until he realised that it sounded just a bit too distant.

“Jinho-ya,” he heard Hwitaek say from outside, “I picked up the snacks you wanted.”

Shinwon could almost hear Hyojong’s voice in his head as he remembered his new duty. Right, he had to make sure that Jinho came out of his room at least once a week. He slipped past Changgu and opened his door to see Hwitaek handing over a bag of snacks to Jinho.

“Jinho,” said Shinwon. “My friend Hongseok’s coming over on Saturday.”

“OK,” said Jinho.

“He wanted to meet you at the party yesterday but he didn’t get the chance, so I invited him over to watch a movie with us. He really wants to meet you.”

Jinho smiled awkwardly. “I’d love to, but I’m really stuck on a case study,” he said. “It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to join you.”

“Come on, I’m sure you can drop your studies for a few hours,” said Shinwon. “I’m going to buy as much popcorn as I can on Wednesday. I’ll even get you an extra large bowl.” He looked at Hwitaek, as if to demand his support.

“What film are we watching?” said Hwitaek, as he looked back at Shinwon.

“It’s something that Hongseok’s been really eager to see for a while now.”

“I really don’t know.” Jinho began to fiddle with the bag. “Let me see how it goes. I’ll tell you Friday latest.”

“You should join us,” said Changgu, as he stepped out of the room.

“Jinho-ya,” said Hwitaek, “you really should. It’s going to be fun.”

For a second, it looked like Jinho was about to yield. Then he shook his head, and he retreated into his room.

“I’ll let you know on Friday,” he said, and he shut the door. Hwitaek sighed, and he was about to walk away when Shinwon reached over to grab his wrist.

“It’s not the end of the world,” said Shinwon. Hwitaek just smiled at him, before he slipped his hand away and disappeared back to his own room.

Changgu sighed. “That’s our plan out the window,” he said.

“Don’t be like that,” said Shinwon. “He said he’d tell us by Friday. It’s only Monday today.”

“Yeah, but you saw his face.”

“I’m sure he can’t be stuck on a case study for a whole week.” Shinwon smiled, but Changgu still looked uncertain. “You think he might be?”

“It wouldn’t surprise me. The only time I’ve seen him out of his room was for our party yesterday.”

“I thought you talked to Jinho today?”

“I did, but I went to his room.”

“Let’s just see how the rest of the week goes,” said Shinwon, as he crossed his arms. Changgu nodded. “If you need to revise with me, don’t be a stranger.”

“Will do,” said Changgu, and he walked back to his room. Shinwon kept watching him until he closed the door, and then he pulled his phone out of his pocket to text Hongseok.

**Shinwon**  
Honk! Get your ass down to the student gym tomorrow morning!

**Hongseok-ie**  
Why? It’s my day off tomorrow -_-

**Shinwon**  
Changgu’s going to the gym ㅎㅁㅎ

**Hongseok-ie**  
omg tysm ily ily ily ily

**Shinwon**  
Someone’s whipped ^_^

**Hongseok-ie**  
I mean  
That’s good news. Thanks Shinwon.

**Shinwon**  
You’re a mess, you know that?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan goes wrong, and goes right at the same time.

Shinwon could smell a firm waft of a very familiar deodorant the moment he opened the door. When he entered the campus building, the first thing he did was to search the lobby for Hongseok—and he found him standing nearby with his back to the door, and engaged in conversation with Changgu.

“Hey,” said Shinwon, as he joined them. “How was the gym?”

“You’re … early?” said Changgu.

“Am I?” Shinwon batted his eyelids, as if to feign ignorance. “Oh, I am. I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything?”

“Not really,” said Hongseok. He had a wide smile on his face. “I was just telling Changgu how much I can’t wait for Saturday.”

“Same here—”

“Changgu-ya,” said Yan An, as he seemed to appear from over Changgu’s shoulder. “I thought I’d find you here.”

“An-ie,” said Changgu, and he looked so cheerful as he turned around that it annoyed Shinwon. Of course Changgu would be delighted to see his best friend, but at the same time, this was damaging Hongseok’s chances. “You know I’m always here.”

“Hi Yan An,” said Shinwon. He figured that the only thing he could do now was to draw Changgu’s attention back to Hongseok, before their lecturer arrived to start the class.

“Hi,” said Yan An, in a much calmer tone, when he saw Shinwon. He then looked at Hongseok, and his eyes narrowed as he scanned the rest of his body. “Who are you?”

Shinwon raised his eyebrows. He swore he could hear the faintest trace of hostility in Yan An’s voice. He looked at Hongseok, who was smiling as he held out his hand.

“I’m Yang Hongseok,” he said, “I’m friends with Shinwon and Changgu. What’s your name?”

“Yan An. I’m their classmate.” Even though Yan An shook hands with him, he was grabbing Hongseok’s hand loosely, and he let go first after a few seconds.

“Are you Chinese?” said Hongseok, before he said something in Mandarin. Shinwon smirked when he saw Yan An’s eyes widen out of surprise, and Changgu clapped his hands together.

“I didn’t know you could speak Chinese,” said Changgu. “That’s so cool.”

“I studied in Singapore for a while,” said Hongseok. “I was also in the States for a bit before my parents came back to Korea.”

Changgu gasped. “You’ve got to tell me more on Saturday—” He stopped, and then looked at Yan An. “Oh, yeah, you didn’t come to the party. Do you want to come over to ours on Saturday as well? Hongseok’s coming to watch a film, and we’re going to show him around the house.”

Yan An’s face brightened, and Shinwon took a small step forward. They were already crowded enough with five people on two sofas; the scheme didn’t need a sixth person, especially if Yan An didn’t seem to be warming to Hongseok.

“I don’t know if you’d like it,” said Shinwon. “We’re going to watch a horror film.”

“You like horror films?” said Yan An.

“Yeah.” Shinwon could sense Hongseok trying to hold in his laugh, and he trod on his foot. “Do you?”

“I haven’t watched one in ages.” Yan An hooked both arms around Changgu’s forearm. With what looked like a smirk, he continued, “I’d love to come over on Saturday.”

Shinwon’s eyes widened, but before he could say anything, the main door opened and he spotted their lecturer walking in. The other students began to gather around the classroom door, and Yan An pulled Changgu away with him. Shinwon sighed as he turned to Hongseok.

“I’ll call you later,” he said. “I’m sure we can uninvite Yan An somehow.”

Hongseok frowned. “It’s fine,” he said. “I want to know who your classmates are, anyway.”

Shinwon gaped. “You can’t be serious. Look, we’ll talk later.”

He followed Changgu and Yan An to the back of the classroom, where he sat down on the other side of Changgu. He tried to look unaffected as he pulled out his textbook from his bag, even though he could feel Yan An glaring at him.

“You don’t normally sit with us,” said Yan An.

“I want to sit next to my own housemate,” said Shinwon.

In response, all Yan An did was huff. Shinwon pulled out his notebook, and he put it down on top of his textbook with a muffled thump.

When their class finished, they left as a trio. They spoke normally, although there were a few times when Yan An tried to drag Changgu away. At first, he tried to suggest it to Changgu directly; but when he wasn’t budging, he then tried to drop the hint to Shinwon, who decided to play dumb. It was just Shinwon’s luck that Yan An lived on the other side of town, and they parted ways ten minutes after leaving the campus.

“What did you invite Yan An for?” said Shinwon, the moment they had crossed the road.

“He hasn’t seen our house yet,” said Changgu. He looked confused. “Anyway, I think it would be nice to hang out with him more. It’s the only way his Korean is ever going to improve.”

“I get that, but we have a plan.”

“Yan An’s not going to affect it.”

“One sofa can’t fit four people. Someone’s going to have to sit with Hwitaek and Jinho, and how are they going to be romantic if there’s someone else with them?”

Changgu sighed. “I’ve been thinking it over. I don’t think the plan’s going to work the way you want it to.”

“It’s not going to if you keep inviting classmates over.” Shinwon crossed his arms over his chest even tighter. The whole scheme had been made on the grounds that it would pull Hongseok and Changgu closer, except Yan An’s presence was only going to divide Changgu’s attention.

“That’s not important. If getting them together is as simple as scaring the shit out of them, then they wouldn’t be in the situation they are right now.”

“It’s worth a try.”

“I know, but … I just think we should enjoy Saturday as, like, an ordinary get together.”

Shinwon sighed, and unfolded his arms. “Fine, but I’m not changing the film.”

Changgu just rolled his eyes.

***

As eager as Shinwon was to call Hongseok later that day, he knew he had to wait until he was out of Changgu’s earshot before he could talk. His first opportunity came on Wednesday, when he went to the supermarket alone to buy popcorn, and also to make a head start with the weekly shop for the house. He had timed it so that he would have at least fifteen minutes on the phone to Hongseok, before Hwitaek and Changgu finished their lessons and joined him.

“We have a plan, Hongseok-ie,” said Shinwon, as he pushed the trolley past the fresh produce, “and that plan isn’t going to work if Changgu’s distracted.”

“I know,” he heard Hongseok say, “but I’m going to meet his friends sooner or later. I might as well do it now.”

“You want to meet Yan An _now_?” Shinwon was glad that they were on the phone; at least it would spare Hongseok from seeing the dozens of expressions crossing his face.

“Well, yeah, he’s your classmate.” Hongseok sounded confused.

“Yeah, but…” Shinwon sighed. There was no point going over what he had seen yesterday, not when Hongseok seemed to have noticed nothing. “You and Changgu can’t have a sofa to yourselves. Each sofa has to have three people on them, and I don’t think I’ll be able to sit with you two.”

“You’re making it sound like it’s a bad thing.”

“I just don’t want you wasting this chance.” Shinwon looked up at the signs above the isles, and realised that he needed to keep walking to the back of the store. “I’m barely friends with the love of your life—”

“He’s not—”

“—and no offense, but he’s a bit of a pain in the arse. When I told him I was going to buy the popcorn today, he told me to get the ones with the least amount of salt and sugar.” Shinwon rolled his eyes as he spoke. “Who the hell checks the nutritional value of _popcorn_?”

“It’s a sensible thing to do.” Hongseok sounded so appreciative that Shinwon almost knocked over a display to his left.

“It’s just _corn_ , Hongseok-ie. It’s _healthy_.”

“It’s fried corn.”

“Still healthy.”

“Machines add in all the salt and sugar afterwards.”

“Why am I bickering with you over popcorn?” said Shinwon, as he steered the trolley into the snacks isle.

“You started it,” said Hongseok.

“Alright, you’ve made your point. Hold on—” Shinwon pulled his phone away as he felt it buzz, and he realised that Hwitaek had messaged him. “Changgu and Hwitaek are coming, they’ve just finished class. Do you want me to stay on the phone, and then pass you over to your crush of the year?”

“Actually,” said Hongseok, “if you could, that would be really helpful. I need to get his number anyway.”

Shinwon stopped walking, his mouth agape. “What?” he said. “You _don’t_ have his number?”

“I didn’t get a chance to ask him on Sunday.”

“How did you even find him in the gym yesterday?”

“I sort of know which parts of the gym he uses.”

“Oh, that’s right, I forgot, you stalked Changgu for a bit.”

“Don’t make this sound creepier than it is,” said Hongseok, in a tone so high that he was almost whining down the phone. “I just noticed him.”

“OK.” Shinwon grabbed a pack of popcorn off the nearest shelf, and he flipped it over to check the back. “I’m going to need your help. Is it good or bad if popcorn has six percent sugar in it?”

***

The first decision Shinwon made on Friday morning was which pair of jeans to wear. After deliberating between three pairs, he picked the ones that were ripped around the knees and lower thighs; and he was pulling them on when Jinho knocked on his door. He zipped up the fly as he scrambled over, and he managed to thumb the button through the hole as he opened the door.

“Hey,” said Shinwon. Jinho was looking up at him, but then he glanced down quickly; and for some reason, the rips felt more revealing than they actually were.

“I really don’t think I can make it tomorrow,” said Jinho. His whole body seemed tense. “I’m still stuck on this case study, and I can’t see a miracle happening today.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Shinwon, smiling. “I’m sure there’s more chances for you to meet Hongseok and Yan An.”

“Thanks.” Jinho’s shoulders fell as he relaxed.

“At least I got you out of your room for a bit.”

Jinho rolled his eyes. “You’ve been talking to Hyojong-ie, haven’t you?”

“Yeah. He wants me to take over his old role.”

Jinho shook his head, and then looked at Shinwon pointedly. “I’m under pressure from home, you know,” he said. “I’ve got family expecting me to do well.”

“I get it,” said Shinwon, “but I would quite like to see you around as well. I am living with _three_ other people.”

“There’s time for that later on.”

“Like Halloween next month? It sounds like Hwitaek’s got plans.”

“He wants to throw a Halloween party again,” said Jinho. “Don’t worry, I’m definitely going to be around for that. Last year’s party was really fun.”

Shinwon pulled a face. “There’s a whole month in-between now and Halloween. You can’t stay cooped up in your room for that long.” He smiled when he saw Jinho smile a little; and for a moment, he was convinced that his housemate was, in reality, a very mature five-year-old.

“I’ll manage,” said Jinho. “I like your jeans, by the way. They really suit you.” Without waiting for an answer, Jinho turned around to enter his room again. Shinwon could have sworn that he’d seen a faint blush on his cheeks.

He didn’t get a chance to see Changgu before his class started, but he figured that he would get the news from Jinho at some point once he was home. Sure enough, when he returned home, the first person he saw was Changgu, who emerged from the kitchen just as he stepped through the doorway.

“Did you know Jinho can’t make it tomorrow?” said Changgu, while Shinwon was shutting the door and taking off his shoes.

“Yeah,” said Shinwon. “He told me this morning.”

Changgu frowned. “I thought you’d be more upset.”

Shinwon had bent over to pick up his shoes at that point. “Me?” he said, as he looked up. “Why?”

“Well, it ruins your plan, doesn’t it?”

It took Shinwon a second to remember that, from Changgu’s perspective, the plan was indeed ruined.

“I guess we’ll just have to have a fun afternoon then,” he said, as he placed his shoes into the shoe rack by the door. “Just like you were saying on Tuesday.”

Changgu didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?” he said, after a pause.

“You were right. It’s going to take more than one scary film to get those two together properly. We should consider this the start to the solution.” Besides, Shinwon thought, there were still parts of the plan that could be salvaged. At least Hongseok was still coming, for a start.

On Saturday, it took ten minutes of toing and froing with both Changgu and Hwitaek before Shinwon was able to take complete control of preparing their drinks and popcorn, and a further five to hog the kitchen for himself. He could already predict what their living room was going to look like later; Hongseok, Changgu, and Yan An were going to sit together on one sofa, leaving the other free for him and Hwitaek. With that in mind, Shinwon made sure to pile too much into one bowl for Hongseok and Changgu to share, then placed a little bit more in another to keep Yan An happy, and then evenly filled the last two to the brims.

The doorbell rang, and Shinwon could hear Changgu coming downstairs as he left the kitchen. He stood to the side to let his housemate answer, and he opened the door on Hongseok talking, mid-sentence, to Yan An.

“Hey Hongseok—” Shinwon began.

“Changgu-ya.” Yan An stepped forward as he flung his arms open, and Shinwon had to move out of the way to avoid being knocked onto the floor. He watched as the two of them hugged, but Yan An pulled Changgu in so tight that he had to tilt his head back a little.

“Hi Hongseok,” said Changgu, as he continued to hug his classmate. Shinwon grinned as he watched Yan An’s face turning grumpier with each word. “I’m so happy you came.”

Afterwards, Yan An latched onto Changgu’s arm and wouldn’t let go as he was shown around the house. There were a few times when Shinwon was sure Yan An was standing with his legs outstretched more than necessary, to make sure that Hongseok couldn’t come closer. Whenever they went through a doorway, Yan An always pressed himself up against Changgu just enough for the two of them to get through together. When they met Jinho and Hwitaek upstairs, Yan An was all smiles and polite words; but when they came downstairs with Hwitaek, Shinwon was certain he was holding onto Changgu even tighter.

“Grab a seat,” said Shinwon, when they were in the living room. “I’ll get the popcorn.”

“I’ll help you,” said Hwitaek. Since there was no point forcing him to stay behind, Shinwon let him follow him into the kitchen.

“I think we’ll need to carry two bowls each,” said Shinwon, as he walked around the table. “Then we can come back for the drinks.”

“Sure,” said Hwitaek. He glanced over the table, and then pointed at the bowls. “Umm, Shinwon? You’ve put too much popcorn into this one.”

Shinwon tried his best to pull a surprised face. “Oh, you’re right,” he said. “I guess I’ll just have to give it to those three.”

“We could share.”

Shinwon laughed, but he could hear how unnatural it sounded.

“I would normally love to,” he said, “but I’m not good with horror films. I don’t want to spill popcorn everywhere. We can always share next time.”

“We’re watching a _horror_ film?” said Hwitaek. His eyes had widened slightly out of surprise.

Shinwon frowned, and then remembered. Ah, right, he hadn’t actually told him what they were watching. He’d been keeping it a secret, to avoid either him or Jinho suspecting anything.

“Yeah,” said Shinwon, “Hongseok likes them sometimes.” He made a mental note to buy his friend a drink some point within the next week. He owed him, given how many times he’d used him as an excuse to cover any odd behaviour.

Hwitaek bit his lip. “I’m like you,” he said, “I’m not … not good with horror films either.”

“Oh well,” said Shinwon, as he shrugged, “at least we can be cowards together.”

Hwitaek giggled. “I’d like that.”

Shinwon left the kitchen first, mainly because he was carrying the two most overfilled bowls, but he also didn’t want Hwitaek to see just how much he was smiling. He returned to the living room to find the situation exactly as he had predicted; Changgu was squeezed in-between Hongseok and a very stubborn looking Yan An.

“There’s space on the other sofa,” said Hwitaek.

“We’re fine like this,” said Yan An.

“Anyway,” said Shinwon, as he reached over the back of the sofa to hand the biggest bowl to Hongseok, “this one’s yours and Changgu—”

“Why’s there so much?” said Yan An. Shinwon could feel him staring.

“I was coming to that. I had a bit of a brain fart this morning. Don’t worry, you’ve got loads yourself.”

Shinwon thrust the second largest bowl into Yan An’s hands. He watched his classmate glance at the contents, and then look over at Hongseok. A few seconds later, Yan An sunk into the sofa and began to pick at the top of the popcorn pile.

The thing about the plan was that Shinwon had no idea how Changgu or Yan An were going to react to the film. It was mainly for this reason that, during the opening fifteen minutes, he focused more on the other sofa than the film itself. Even though Hongseok’s face kept wincing and flinching, he was a good enough actor to keep his body still. Next to him, Changgu spent most of the time sitting still and staring wide-eyed at the TV. He occasionally reached over to the bowl, and there were a few times when he brushed his hand against Hongseok’s. Yan An, by contrast, was watching and eating so casually that it was like they had put on something family friendly.

Shinwon was soon distracted by Hwitaek, who seemed to be vocalising his inner monologue. He never stopped shrieking or gasping or uttering words like “no” and “why” and “mum” under his breath. Shinwon could feel him writhing on the sofa, but then he jumped when he felt him seize his wrist. For the first time, he turned away from the other sofa to look at the TV, and he too yelped and grabbed Hwitaek’s arm back.

Thinking about it, Shinwon really should have researched the film rather than just skimming the numerous online reviews vouching that it was scary. He hadn’t anticipated clinging onto Hwitaek for a large portion of the plot, and he was certain he was going to need a hearing test after this. At one point, he jumped and bashed his head against Hwitaek’s, startling them both into yelping and recoiling at the same time.

About halfway through, both of Hwitaek’s hands were clutching Shinwon’s arm when the latter felt another hand on his shoulder. He screamed as he flung his arms into the air, smacking Hwitaek on his jaw and almost hitting the other person.

“Jinho-ya?” he heard Hwitaek say, and he looked over his shoulder. For the first time, he saw his housemate standing by the sofa, frowning at them.

“Hwitaek-ie, Shinwon, can you keep it down?” said Jinho. His glare flickered towards the screen. “I really can’t study—yaaaaaah—”

Shinwon turned to the TV in time to catch what had frightened Jinho, and then looked back at his housemate—who had disappeared. Except Shinwon swore he could still hear Jinho producing a series of strangled noises and he used his elbows to prop himself up over the armrest of the sofa, where he found his housemate crouched down, and he burst out laughing.

“Where’s he gone?” he heard Hwitaek ask. Shinwon started when he felt Hwitaek place his hands on his shoulders, and then partially climbed over him to look for Jinho.

“Are you scared?” said Shinwon, as he looked down again.

“No,” said Jinho, weakly, in a high pitch. As if to prove his point, he rose up on tiptoes until his eyes were just about higher than the armrest, but then he yelled again and sat down on the floor.

“Come on, coward number three,” said Shinwon, and he reached over to grab Jinho by his wrists. He felt the sofa spring up next to him as a weight lifted from his back, and with Hwitaek’s help, they pulled Jinho out of his hiding spot.

Shinwon wanted to let Jinho sit in the middle, except he somehow ended up budging into the middle of the sofa. He knew he should have changed places as soon as possible, but a part of him didn’t mind that he had two people clinging onto him. He didn’t mind that Hwitaek was slowly wrapping more limbs around him, or that he could feel Jinho wriggling into the back of the sofa to hide behind his shoulders. It was a good distraction to be able to turn around and fill Jinho in on plot points. When Shinwon got jumpy, there was something pleasing about being able to choose between two people to rely on.

By the time the film finished, Shinwon was sinking a little under the weight of most of Hwitaek’s body wrapped around him, and Jinho’s hands on whichever parts of his shoulders were free. He looked over to the other sofa, where the other three were sat as far apart as their limited space would allow them. Yan An had finished all his popcorn and was reaching over to pinch more from the bigger bowl, and Changgu was staring with his eyebrows raised at Jinho.

“Oh, Jinho hyung,” said Changgu, “when did you join us?”

“About half way through,” said Jinho.

“I thought you needed to study.”

Jinho started, like he’d almost forgotten why he’d turned down the invitation in the first place.

“Yeah, I do.” Jinho stood up. “I only wanted to tell you to keep it down. It was nice meeting you, Yan An, Hongseok.” He waved at them as he scurried out of the room.

“Hey, Changgu-ya,” said Yan An, “I’ve just realised, _you_ haven’t been to my place either. How about we go there now?”

Shinwon crossed his arms as he felt Hwitaek untangle himself from him. He could hardly object without raising suspicions, given that Yan An was addressing his friend, but it was irritating how the Chinese student was pressing up against Changgu. He had never seen them this clingy during class, and he was fairly certain he wasn’t like this outside of class either, even though they’d never hung out with each other. It was almost like a different person had taken over Yan An’s body.

Changgu smiled at Yan An. “You’re right,” he said. “I don’t mind, unless anyone wants to do something else here?”

“You should all come too,” said Yan An. Even though he was looking around the room, Shinwon noticed how his glare lingered on Hwitaek the longest. He’d barely paid Hongseok or himself any attention.

“I’d love to, but I’ve got coursework to get on with,” said Hwitaek, as he glanced at the ceiling. His focus was fixed on one spot in particular, and Shinwon reckoned that was where Jinho’s room was.

“I’d love to come with you,” said Shinwon. He flashed a smile at Yan An, which only widened when he saw him crinkle his nose. “You following us, Hongseok-ie?”

“Yeah,” his friend said.

They left the house as a four, but they walked in an uneven number. Yan An was using this opportunity to walk arm in arm with Changgu, and Hongseok was on the other side of him, leaving Shinwon to trail behind them on his own. He wasn’t in the most talkative mood anyway; if he felt that Yan An was being too domineering, he stepped in to cut up their conversation.

Still, it was worth it, he thought, as they arrived at the block of flats that Yan An was living in. He watched as he entered the code to unlock the main entrance, and Shinwon made a point of thanking him as he entered the building.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinwon starts to feel troubled.

Shinwon wanted to speak to Hongseok alone, but they left Yan An’s place along with Changgu. His first chance, then, didn’t come until Monday, when they met up at the student bar after Shinwon’s class. He found Hongseok waiting for him again, but this time he had picked a seat not too far from the bar.

“Did you have fun on Saturday?” said Shinwon, as he sat down.

“It was great,” said Hongseok, smiling, “but can we watch something less scary next time? I missed some of the plot because of your screams.”

“Yeah, I’ll pick something nice and sappy next time.” Shinwon leaned in. “Anyway, this isn’t about me. Did you hold hands with Changgu?” Hongseok shook his head. “Did you at least touch?”

“We did a few times.”

“Well, there you go.” Shinwon looked around, even though he was certain that there was nobody else from his class in the bar. Besides, he was fairly sure that Yan An had the same timetable as Changgu, and he doubted whether they even knew of the bar’s existence. “What did you think about my housemates?”

“I like them, they’re nice,” said Hongseok. There was a glint in his eyes. “What’s the deal with you and Hwitaek?”

“We’re just friends.” Shinwon’s eyes widened as he sank lower onto the table. “Why?”

“He was practically climbing on top of you at the end.”

“He was just scared.” Shinwon made sure to sprawl his body all over the table to keep Hongseok’s glare away from his jeans, as a precaution. “I didn’t know he was bad with horror films until we went to fetch the snacks.”

“Right.” Hongseok nodded his head once, but it was enough to make Shinwon scrunch up his face. “Didn’t he do that halfway through as well, when Jinho hyung joined us?”

“He’s just touchy feely with everyone.”

“Is he?”

“If you’d sat where I was, he’d have been climbing on you as well.”

“Nobody climbs on anyone like that, not unless they _really_ like them.”

“Hongseok-ie, he’s…” Shinwon hesitated as he tried to figure out what words to use. “Hwitaek hyung’s got his eye on someone else. Someone he knew long before he knew me.” He used both hands to push himself up off the table, before he picked up his pint and gulped a good portion of it in one go.

“That sucks.”

Shinwon put the glass down with a slight thud. He would have to mull over Hongseok’s comments later, when he was alone in his room again.

“Anyway,” said Shinwon, now very eager to change the subject, “what about Yan An? What did you make of him?”

“I like him as well.”

“It’s alright, you don’t have to be nice just because he’s my classmate.”

“What did you think I was going to say?” said Hongseok. He was speaking slower than usual.

Shinwon reached over to grab his friend’s shoulders. “Honk, I know you’re not stupid. Please tell me you could see it too.”

“Well, he did seem a bit … he really likes Changgu, doesn’t he?”

“They’re best friends,” said Shinwon, as he let go. “From what I could tell, he was trying to push you away.” He’d been eager to ask Changgu about Yan An with all sorts of questions, but at the same time, he was stuck on how to approach him. Changgu hadn’t seemed to notice anything odd with Yan An’s behaviour, and Shinwon didn’t want to suggest anything to him either.

Hongseok looked down at his drink. “I know. I figured as much.”

“Don’t get too upset. I think you’ve still got a chance with Changgu.” Shinwon grinned as he watched Hongseok look up. “If he really liked Yan An that way, he would’ve dropped a hint already.”

“You really think I’ve got a chance?” Hongseok’s eyes widened a little.

Shinwon nodded. “If I thought he was into someone, I wouldn’t be trying to hook you two up.” It would be hypocritical of him to even do that, for a start.

Hongseok seemed more reassured, and Shinwon figured the wisest thing to do right now was to steer the subject away from Saturday. He managed it with little difficulty, and neither of them returned to the topic again.

What surprised Shinwon was that afterwards, when he met up with Hwitaek to walk back home, he hadn’t been expecting to see Hyojong as well. The latter drew him into a tight hug the moment he saw him; and when he let go, he said—

“I’ve heard all about Saturday. Let me get this right. You got Jinho out of his room to hide behind a sofa?”

Shinwon rolled his eyes as he said, “That wasn’t exactly the plan—”

“Well done,” said Hyojong, as he reached over to pat Shinwon’s arm. “You’re doing better than I thought you would.”

“Really?”

“I thought it’d take you at least a couple of weeks,” said Hyojong, with a grin on his face. He slung his arm around Hwitaek’s shoulders. “If I’d made Hwitaek-ie do it, I bet Jinho-ya would still be in there by Halloween.”

“Hey,” said Hwitaek, “I’m not that bad.”

“Mmmm, no, you are.” Hyojong looked at Shinwon, just as they left through the main entrance of the campus. “Are you coming to the Halloween party?”

“You bet I am. Jinho hyung told me last years was really good.”

“It was a _blast_.” Hyojong grabbed Hwitaek by the shoulders and shook him. “It was his first time organising a party that big as well. Hey, are you changing your hair colour soon?”

“I was going to dye it orange—” Hwitaek started.

“Like a pumpkin?” said Hyojong, and Shinwon burst out laughing.

“I said that too,” said Shinwon, and he reached over Hwitaek’s head to high five a cackling Hyojong.

“Well, the joke’s on you,” said Hwitaek. “I’ve decided I’m going to keep my hair blue.”

Hyojong pouted. “You’re such a spoilsport.”

“Jinho-ya loves it, and so does Shinwon-ie, so I’m going to keep it.”

“Ah, listening to your lover boy, are you?” Hyojong nudged his elbow into Hwitaek’s side, and seemed to be oblivious to the deep blush spreading across his cheeks.

“Have you thought of a costume yet, hyung?” said Shinwon, hoping that it was enough of a distraction.

“You bet I have,” said Hyojong, “I think you’re going to love it. L-o-v-e, _love_ it.”

“What did you go as last year?”

“I was a vampire. I think Jinho went as a devil—or was it some weird skeleton costume he got off the internet—?”

Shinwon opened his mouth to interrupt. Now that they were talking about it, he remembered seeing pictures of a red haired Hwitaek dressed up as the devil. He was sure there had been hundreds of photos from the party, but for some reason, he couldn’t picture Hyojong in any of them; and it took him a while to remember that Jinho had been wearing round glasses, with his fringe parted and a line drawn on his forehead.

“No, he was Harry Potter,” said Hwitaek. “I’m sure the skeleton was Mingyu hyung.”

Hyojong looked ahead for a few seconds. “Oh, yeah, you’re right. Who was the devil then?”

“Wasn’t that you, Hwitaek hyung?” said Shinwon. He kept his eyes on his housemate, even though he could feel Hyojong staring at him.

“It was,” said Hwitaek. He looked amazed more than confused. “How did you know?”

“I saw the photos on Facebook.” Shinwon decided to avoid eye contact with them both, to prevent giving himself away any more than he’d already done. “Anyway, what other costumes were there?”

“We actually had three vampires last year—only one fine as hell, obviously—” There was so much enthusiasm in Hyojong’s voice that Shinwon looked at him, and saw that he was busy counting off his fingers as he stared ahead again. “—one skeleton, two werewolves, four zombies, one sexy black cat, one ugly black cat—what? You know who I’m talking about, Hwitaek-ie—quite a few cosplayers, erm, two normal witches, my baby went as a sexy witch—”

“Hyuna nuna was a witch?” said Shinwon, frowning.

“Yeah, and a damn fine one.” Now it was Hyojong’s turn to look confused. “You seem surprised.”

“It’s just, when you said there was a sexy black cat, I thought that was her.”

It took Hyojong a few seconds to realise what Shinwon meant, and he threw his head back as he laughed.

“Oh, Shinwon,” said Hyojong, with a grin, “I never said the cat was a girl.”

Shinwon raised his eyebrows. For some reason, he was picturing someone with a body similar to Hongseok’s dressed in a pair of tight jeans with a comical cat headband in his hair and an oversized ribbon tied around his neck in a droopy bow. It took him a moment longer to realise they had stopped outside a block of flats, and he recognised it as Hyojong’s front door.

“I’m going to stay at Hyojong’s for a bit,” said Hwitaek. “You coming with us, Shinwon-ie?”

Shinwon shook his head. “I’d love to,” he said, “but I’ve got some assignments to start.”

“Huh,” said Hyojong, “I didn’t think you were the type to study hard.”

“I’m not, but Changgu is, and he can be terrifying as fuck.” Shinwon tried to keep his tone light. It must have worked, because Hwitaek’s laugh was more than enough to back him up, and Hyojong soon let him go.

Shinwon kept his mind as blank as he could as he walked the rest of the way home. When he returned, his thoughts had drifted off as he put away his shoes and wandered upstairs. He just about noticed that Changgu’s door was open, but he had no recollection if he’d waved at him or not; and he tried not to look at Jinho’s room as he entered his own. After he locked his door and dropped his bag by the door, he dived onto his bed, where he lay with his face buried into his duvet.

He tried to reassure himself that Hongseok only noticed because they’d known each other the longest. If he asked Changgu, he would probably say that they were just friends. Still, this was far from ideal; the whole point was that Shinwon couldn’t let his feelings show like this, not when he was trying to help Hwitaek and Jinho get together properly. What if Hongseok then mentioned something to Changgu, or even found out about Hwitaek and Jinho’s true relationship? Even worse, what if Jinho had noticed as well?

What Shinwon felt for Hwitaek was a crush, nothing more. Jinho, on the other hand, had slept with Hwitaek multiple times, kissed him more, and had cared for him longer—not to mention the support he had from Hyojong, Hyuna, Changgu, and even Shinwon himself. The only way out was to fall out of love with Hwitaek, which would have been easier if he wasn’t so cute, or if they weren’t sharing the same house.

Shinwon wasn’t in any mood to leave his room for the rest of the day, and although he realised he was wasting his time after thirty minutes of just lying on his bed, it took a further twenty before he could be bothered to sit up, and another twenty of brooding at the walls before he opened his laptop and textbooks. He tried to keep himself occupied by focusing on his assignments—which worked up until the evening, when he realised that he had pot noodle with him but no kettle or chopsticks. He unlocked the door, but peered out first. To his relief, all the doors upstairs were closed, and he couldn’t hear any noise downstairs as he descended the stairs. He was halfway down, however, when he realised the kitchen light was on, and he froze when he saw Jinho emerge. He was sure he wasn’t that far down the stairs; he could just run up them again and—

“Hey,” said Jinho, smiling, as started to walk up the stairs. He was holding a bowl full of noodles with both hands. “I know, I’m out of my room.”

“Yeah,” said Shinwon. He tried to ignore how expectantly Jinho was looking at him, waiting for the joke he normally would have spoken if he’d been in a better mood.

Jinho frowned. “Are you alright?”

Shinwon didn’t say anything, not even when Jinho stopped on the step just under his. A part of him wanted to approach Jinho now about Saturday, but if he did, then there was no way he could hide how much he fancied Hwitaek. Even if he tried to be clever about his questions, there was still no other plausible explanation as to why he was asking things like that.

In the end, Shinwon half-shrugged, half-shimmed on the spot. “I’m fine,” he said, as he tried to fake a yawn, “I’m just a bit worn out.”

Jinho nodded. “Tell me about it. University’s so tiring sometimes.”

“You should eat first,” said Shinwon, as he nodded at the noodles. “Eat that first, and then study.”

“You can always come to me, if you need to talk,” said Jinho, and Shinwon swore that he’d leaned in a bit closer. “I’m a bit shit at giving advice, but I’ve been told I’m a good listener.”

Shinwon only felt worse, and he placed a hand over his belly. “Thanks, but your dinner’s making me hungry. I’ll, erm, I’ll always knock on your door if I need you.” He didn’t pay attention to Jinho’s face as he slipped past the shorter man, and nor did he look behind him as he entered the kitchen.

The kettle was still lukewarm from when Jinho had used it, and he had left some dregs at the bottom. Shinwon tipped them out just as he heard someone unlock the front door, and he was about to turn on the tap when he heard Hwitaek calling for Jinho. He stepped back far enough to peep through the doorway, and his eyes widened when he saw that Jinho was now several steps away from the bottom of the stairs. Had he really meant to follow him back into the kitchen? His housemate was still holding his dinner, but he looked so startled at Hwitaek that his fingers were barely clutching the bowl.

“Hi,” said Jinho, “I didn’t know you’d gone out.”

“I’ve been at Hyojong’s,” said Hwitaek, as he walked up to the step below. “Are you OK?”

Shinwon put the kettle down on the table just as he saw Jinho lean in to kiss Hwitaek. Their lips touched, but that was as deep as it went; Jinho pulled back a few seconds later, and then he ran up the stairs two at a time with so much speed that Shinwon just stood there, unsure how to process what he’d just seen. Then Hwitaek began to walk up the rest of the stairs, with blushing cheeks and a very confused face. It was only after he disappeared out of view that Shinwon remembered he wanted to boil the kettle.

***

Shinwon’s mood improved the next day when, following a series of texts, he discovered that Hongseok and Changgu had decided to make working out in the student gym together on Tuesday mornings a regular thing. When Shinwon showed up to the campus in the afternoon, however, he found Changgu waiting alone outside the door to their classroom. It was only when he drew closer that he realised he was talking to someone who was just about taller than Shinwon himself, and was dressed in a black tank top that showed off his muscular arms, paired with black jeans and trainers. Hanging off one shoulder was a black backpack, which had the sleeve of a black jacket draped out of it.

“Changgu,” said Shinwon. He then turned to the stranger. “Hello.”

“Hello,” said the stranger, in a voice deeper than what Shinwon had been expecting. He bowed low enough that he seemed to be a second away from kneeling; and when he straightened up again, Shinwon noticed he had a thin, silver earring dangling from his right ear.

“This is Yuto,” said Changgu. “Hongseok and I met him at the gym this morning. This is my housemate, Shinwon.”

“Let me guess, you like black,” said Shinwon.

Yuto laughed. “How did you know?”

“Just an instinct. What are you studying?”

“I’m studying sports science. I’ve only just started university, so I’m still, erm, how do you say it, I’m—”

“Are you still a little bit lost?”

Yuto nodded. “Yeah, something like that. I didn’t realise how big the buildings are.”

Shinwon noticed Changgu standing on his tiptoes and waving, and he turned around to see Yan An walking towards them. The Chinese student was smiling, until he spotted Yuto, and he seemed to slow down as his eyes were drawn to his muscular figure.

“Changgu-ya?” said Yan An. “Who’s this?”

“He’s Yuto, our new friend,” said Changgu. He turned to Yuto. “This is Yan An. I mentioned him to you earlier. He’s like you, he came to Korea four years ago.”

“Hello,” said Yuto, and Shinwon watched him give Yan An the same deep bow that he’d done earlier. He looked at the Chinese student, whose eyes had narrowed, and there was a faint trace of distrust on his face.

“Hello,” said Yan An. He walked over to Changgu, and hooked his arm in his. He was eyeing Yuto so much that Shinwon began to wonder if he had misunderstood Yan An a little; maybe he despised people with tall, muscular builds like Hongseok and Yuto. He couldn’t surely think that Changgu just attracted people wherever he went, right?

It was becoming increasingly difficult to avoid talking about Yan An. Shinwon knew he would have to speak to Changgu, but he needed time. He chose to sit with other students on the other side of the classroom, and he lingered behind afterwards until Changgu and Yan An were also ready to leave. He walked with them like before, but this time, he barely spoke; and even though he was more at ease once they said goodbye to Yan An, it still took a good ten minutes before Shinwon spoke.

“Yan An seems to really like hugging you,” he said.

“Funnily enough, he wasn’t like that in our first year,” said Changgu. “He was a bit more distant.”

“That’s what I thought as well. Has he ever been to the gym with you?”

“He’s never been interested.” Changgu shook his head, but there was a frown appearing on his face as well. “I tried to get him to come along, but he doesn’t really like the gym.”

Shinwon tried to shrug, except his shoulders felt tense. “That’s interesting,” he said, as nonchalantly as he could. “He seemed … interested in Yuto just then.”

“Do you think so?” said Changgu, smiling. “It’s nice that he’s making friends outside our class. He used to be a bit more closed off, ‘caus he had this thing when he used to believe that people with piercings or dyed hair were bad people, so he was … picky with people, I guess.”

“Did he really?” Shinwon raised his eyebrows. On the one hand, he had been nothing but polite to Hwitaek on Saturday; but if he _was_ fine with dyed hair and piercings, then why did he seem wary of Yuto? Besides, Hongseok was piercing-free and had boring black hair. “He doesn’t think that anymore?”

“I’m fairly sure he doesn’t. He only told me last week that he’s thinking about getting his ears pierced.”

Shinwon’s eyes widened for a second. Maybe Yan An did fancy Changgu after all. Maybe, he viewed Yuto and Hongseok as his rivals—but surely, he should be even more suspicious of Jinho and Hwitaek and even Shinwon himself, the three people who lived with Changgu and would know him the most intimately. No matter, he had heard enough about Yan An to satisfy his curiosity for now, and he decided to change topics, in case Changgu began to grow any more suspicious.

“You looking forward to the Halloween party?” said Shinwon.

“It’s a bit early to talk about Halloween, isn’t it?” said Changgu.

“No. It’s already the 29th today. We’re going to be in October in two days.”

Changgu looked surprised. “Oh. Is it really? Have you got a costume yet?”

“Not yet. I’m thinking about adapting last year’s costume. What about you?”

“I don’t know,” said Changgu, with a shrug. “I’m looking online for good costumes.”

Shinwon did a double take. “You don’t make your own costume?”

“I used to, when I was a kid. We’ve got so much work this year that I don’t really have the time to make things.”

“Oh, come on, there’s always a bit of time for fun.” Shinwon nudged Changgu’s elbow, but the look his housemate gave him was enough for Shinwon to change the subject. He didn’t bring up Halloween again, not even after they arrived home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparations get underway for Halloween.

It was mid-October when Hwitaek realised that he needed to buy a few more decorations for the Halloween party; and after working out everybody’s timetables, they decided that Shinwon, Hwitaek, and Changgu would go shopping on Wednesday, when Jinho was in class at the university, and then the four of them would return home together.

They ended up going to a department store. Hwitaek led them through the main entrance, where the first thing they saw was a row of display shelves full of plastic pumpkins, fairy lights in the shapes of ghosts and bats, face paints and children’s costumes from several different brands, bags of sweets, chocolate bars with Halloween-themed wrapping, and a large sign directing them to the third floor for even more Halloween goods.

“Hyung, I’ve found your costume,” said Shinwon, and he handed Hwitaek the nearest pumpkin he could pick up.

“Ya—” Hwitaek smiled so much that his eyes turned into crescents. “What do I have to do to make you drop the idea?”

“Maybe dress up as one?”

Hwitaek looked at the pumpkin’s face. “You know, I think _you_ would suit it, actually.”

“Trust me, I would wear one if I was your height—” Before Shinwon could finish, he giggled and flinched as Hwitaek slapped his arm, and then shoved the pumpkin back into his hands.

“I am your elder, and you will respect that,” said Hwitaek, in a mock offended tone. “Don’t get mouthy with me, _dongsaeng-ie_.”

“Mmmm, what if I _want_ to keep annoying you?” Shinwon only meant it teasingly, but his mouth dropped open when he noticed that Hwitaek was blushing. His housemate seemed to realise as well, because a second later he turned to face the shelves again, and picked up a pack of face paint.

“I could do with this,” said Hwitaek, as he turned the pack over. His eyes appeared to glaze over the writing. “I used up a lot of face paints last year, so I’m running low.”

“What’re you going as this year, hyung?” said Changgu from what sounded like the other side of the shelves. Shinwon jumped as he remembered his other housemate for the first time; and when he looked over, he saw that Changgu was completely focused on Hwitaek.

“Let’s just say I’m _not_ dressing up as a fruit,” said Hwitaek. Shinwon pouted as dramatically as he could, which lasted for about a second before his housemate started to giggle, and Shinwon couldn’t hold back his own giggles.

“We should go to the third floor,” he heard Changgu say, and he looked across the shelves to see his housemate pointing at the sign. Changgu continued in a softer voice, “These fairy lights look cute. I want to see if they’ve got any more designs.”

Changgu lead the way, and Shinwon walked with Hwitaek to his left. They followed him up the escalators, and straight to the section of the store that had been set up for Halloween. Like Changgu had predicted, there were more designs for lights, and Hwitaek was soon struggling to decide between three boxes. One had paper bats hanging off the wire in-between every few lights; another one was adorned with headstones; and the last one had each light covered up under white fabric cut to look like ghosts.

“I don’t know which one I should go for,” said Hwitaek, as he held out all three. “Which ones look good?”

“What kind of vibe are you going for?” said Changgu. He was turning over the headstones in his hands. Shinwon, meanwhile, was holding onto the other two.

“Well, I tried to make it scary last year, but it felt a bit too generic, so I thought I’d try cute this year. Like, still scary, but cute at the same time, if that’s possible.”

Shinwon instantly held out the ghost lights. “Go with these ones,” he said. “They look spooky now, but the light’s inside the ghosts, so you’ll get little disco ghosts when you turn them on. There’s nothing creepier and cuter than a ghost from the 70s, right?”

Hwitaek scoffed. “You’re so ridiculous,” he said, “but I like it.” He took the lights out of Shinwon’s hands, and then picked up another set of ghost lights from the shelf below him. “I’m definitely decorating the living room with these, and I think I’m going to hang a second set of lights over the front door.”

“If you want two lights, maybe go for two different designs?” said Changgu. “The bats are quite nice as well.”

Hwitaek hummed as he looked down at the boxes. “Nah, I’ll stick with the ghosts,” he said. “It’ll look neater.”

“And cuter?” said Shinwon, lightly. Hwitaek just looked up at him, grinning. “Now, are you sure you don’t want a pumpkin?”

Hwitaek rolled his eyes. “I’ve got some left over from last year, so no.”

Shinwon’s mouth dropped open. “And you were going to break this news to me when?”

“When I fancied it,” Hwitaek responded, smiling. There was so much delight on his face that Shinwon couldn’t even be seriously angry with him. Hwitaek slapped his arm. “Your face—”

“What’s this about pumpkins?” said Changgu. He had moved to the shelf next to Hwitaek, and he was looking perplexed at them both.

“I told Shinwon-ie I might dye my hair orange, and he thought I was going to dress up as a pumpkin.”

“Hey, it’s not just me,” said Shinwon. “Hyojong hyung said the same thing.”

Hwitaek grabbed Changgu’s wrist with his free hand. “Changgu-ya, you’re my last hope. Please tell me you don’t think I’d look like a pumpkin with orange hair.”

Shinwon caught Changgu’s eye, and he started to mouth “pumpkin” at him. Changgu hesitated, so Shinwon opened his mouth even wider.

“Stop influencing him,” said Hwitaek.

“What?” said Shinwon, trying to sound as innocent as possible. “I wasn’t doing anything.” He looked back at Changgu and, unable to resist, pointed at a nearby pumpkin with a grin.

“I have eyes on the back of my head.”

“Oh really?” With his other hand, Shinwon held up two fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“You better be holding up more than one, Shinwon.”

“Anyway,” said Changgu, “hyung, I … I think you do look like a pumpkin.”

Hwitaek loudly gasped as he let go of his housemate. “How can you do this to me?”

“What does Jinho hyung think?”

“I’ve never actually asked…” Hwitaek looked at Shinwon, and rolled his eyes. “Don’t you even—”

“Let’s ask him when we meet up again,” said Shinwon. He had barely finished speaking when Hwitaek began to walk up to him, and he darted away as fast as possible.

It wasn’t just the lights that Hwitaek needed to buy. He also picked up some fake cobwebs, debated for a while over whether he wanted a large cardboard cut-out of some ghosts before he decided he didn’t, and he also grabbed another pack of face paint. Now that he thought about it, Shinwon could do with a few packs of face paint himself. He had dressed up as a black cat last year, but he had only done it because he’d found a cheap cat onesie online; the cat ear headband he’d worn was a hand-me-down from his sister’s costume three Halloweens ago. Since he was not in a position to buy a brand new outfit, he had decided to adapt the cat costume by wearing the onesie up to his waist, put on a ripped t-shirt and the headband, and claim that he was a werewolf or werecat, depending on how the costume turned out.

“Oh, you need some face paints as well?” said Hwitaek, as Shinwon picked up a pack. The lid had an illustration of a cobweb painted on a girl’s face.

“I sure do.” Shinwon glanced at Hwitaek’s hands. “How many are you buying? Are you going to paint your body as well, or something?”

“I think I might need to.”

Shinwon raised his eyebrows. “What are you going as, The Hulk? Oh, wait, you’re not tall—” Shinwon flinched as Hwitaek took a step closer to him, and he ran around to the other side of Changgu. “Save me—”

“Don’t you dare help him, Changgu,” said Hwitaek, grinning, at the same time.

Shinwon managed to avoid sustaining any injuries, but their trip to the department store took longer than anticipated. They were late enough that by the time Jinho finished his class, he ended up waiting outside the supermarket for them as they paid for their food. They met him with their hands full; and the first thing Shinwon said was—

“Jinho hyung, if Hwitaek hyung had dyed his hair orange for Halloween, would he look like a pumpkin?”

Jinho frowned as he looked at each of them in turn. “What have you been getting up to?” he said.

“We’ll tell you once you’ve answered.”

“What did you say?”

“You’ll find out later.”

Jinho sighed, and then he looked at Hwitaek. His eyes narrowed; and after a silence that seemed to drag on for a while, Jinho said, “I think you would look like a pumpkin.”

Hwitaek’s mouth dropped open just as Shinwon and Changgu laughed so much that they drifted away from the group for a moment. Jinho looked confused for a second before he seemed to understand what was so funny, and he too joined in laughing with them.

“Did you both say pumpkin as well?” said Jinho.

“Jo Jinho, how could you do that to me?” said Hwitaek, his voice wobbling in a half-offended tone. “I am never setting foot in your room again.”

Jinho pouted. “You’re so mean.”

Shinwon watched as Jinho grabbed Hwitaek’s arm nearest to him, and then leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. Hwitaek flushed, and for a moment, Shinwon wondered how it would feel to get that reaction out of him. He turned away when he remembered where he was, and he only looked over at his housemates again when he heard Changgu talk to them about something else completely.

Jinho was the only person who wasn’t holding onto any shopping when he returned home, so it was up to him to unlock the door and hold it open for them. Shinwon followed Changgu into the house; and as he stepped over the threshold, he could hear Jinho asking Hwitaek about the shopping.

“Of course I remembered the waffles,” said Hwitaek. “Where do you want me to drop them off?”

“In my room,” said Jinho, playfully. “That is, if you’re _going_ to enter it.”

Shinwon kept his head down as he kicked off his shoes. He could sense the embarrassment radiating from Hwitaek’s face.

“Jinho-ya,” said Hwitaek, whining. “I … I can be persuaded to change my mind, I suppose.”

“What do I have to do?”

Shinwon was about to drop his shopping to put his shoes away, but he looked over his shoulder in time to see Jinho kiss the corner of Hwitaek’s mouth. He balled his fists even harder and darted for the stairs. He didn’t care that he’d knocked into Changgu’s arm, or almost stepped on his foot; he just shot up the stairs, and didn’t stop until he reached his room. He let go of his bags to find his keys, and then realised that there was someone else upstairs.

He looked to his left, and watched as Changgu stopped halfway between their two doors. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out; and Shinwon maintained eye contact with him as he felt inside his bag for his keys. It then occurred to Shinwon that the way he’d ran up the stairs had been on the unsubtle side, and he hoped that Changgu wasn’t about to raise questions about that.

“Shinwon?” said Changgu, after a while.

“Yeah?” was all Shinwon managed to say.

“I … if you need me, I’m going to be in my room, yeah?”

Shinwon just nodded, and he watched Changgu turned around to return to his own room.

At that moment, Shinwon felt his keys at the bottom of his bag, and he pulled them out. He unlocked his door, and with his feet, he shuffled all his shopping into his room. His door remained closed afterwards; and when he heard Jinho and Hwitaek come upstairs at last, he plugged his earphones into his phone and turned up his music.

***

Shinwon was walking across campus to his class on Friday afternoon when a student taller than him stopped him by stepping in his direction, and holding out his left hand. Shinwon noted how large his hands were as he looked down, and saw that he was holding a stack of purple flyers in his other hand. Then he looked up, and wondered was how on earth the student could see anything past the mass of pink hair that covered his eyes.

“Excuse me,” said the student. “I’m really sorry, but do you know where the student bar is?”

“You see that building there?” said Shinwon, as he pointed ahead of him. He waited for the student to turn around. “Go in through the yellow doors, and you’ll see a staircase in front of you, just to your left. Go up the stairs to the third floor, and go through the second door on your right. The student bar is at the end of a really short corridor.”

“Ah, thank you so much.” The student turned around to face Shinwon again, and he quickly bowed, before he held out one of the flyers. “I hope you don’t mind if I give you this.”

Shinwon smiled as he took the flyer, and then he continued on walking to his class. He was still five minutes early when he reached the room; and as he waited outside, he looked down at the flyer. It was an advert for the Modern Dance Society, and Shinwon glanced over some times and dates printed near the bottom before he folded the paper up, and stuffed it in the outer pocket of his bag.

Usually, Shinwon would have been impatient to head home after class and get the weekend started; but for some reason, he kept thinking about the student, and the flyers. When he left the classroom, he made up his mind, and he headed over to the student bar, where the first things he spotted were the evenly separated stacks of purple flyers spread out across the bar. He was wondering whether to stay for a drink or not when he noticed Yuto, once again dressed in all black, sat alone at the bar, and he walked up to him.

“Yuto?” said Shinwon. The other student started, and then smiled at him. “Do you mind if I join you?”

“Go ahead,” said Yuto.

Shinwon sat down, and then grabbed the attention of the bartender. It was only after he had paid for his pint that he said to Yuto, “Do you have any other colour in your wardrobe?”

“I have a white jacket.”

“I’m sure you’d look dashing in white.” Shinwon sipped his drink. “Have Changgu and Hongseok told you about the Halloween party?”

“They have. They’ve invited me. I heard that your housemate’s organising it?”

Shinwon nodded. “Hwitaek hyung’s really excited about it. You should come, he _loves_ meeting new people.”

“I … I don’t know if I should. I know my dormmates would love to come as well, but we don’t know your other housemates.”

“It’s fine. Feel free to bring your friends along.” Shinwon patted Yuto on the shoulder, as a way of reassuring him. “Hongseok came to our housewarming party, even though I was the only person he knew.”

Yuto frowned. “How did Changgu hyung and Hongseok hyung meet?”

“They met at the party,” said Shinwon, as he wondered why Yuto seemed so surprised. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you meet them? I guess you first knew them through the gym?” He took another sip from his drink.

“I did. I didn’t really understand how to use the lockers. I was translating the instructions on my phone when they came in, and they asked if I needed help.”

Shinwon put the glass down just as a realisation struck him. Yuto had an outsider’s perspective of the relationship between Changgu and Hongseok. From what Hongseok had told him before, the three of them would go the gym on Tuesday morning, have lunch together afterwards, and then go their separate ways once Changgu and Shinwon’s class commenced. Yuto would surely notice things that Hongseok wouldn’t.

“How often do you go to the gym?” Shinwon was sure he was keeping his tone casual.

“I try to go three times a week, at least.” Yuto looked just as relaxed as before.

“Do you ever go alone? Or do you meet up with friends and classmates?”

“I always try to go with other people. Loads of people in my class go as well, so we try to work something out that way.” Yuto sank back into his seat. “What about you, hyung?”

Shinwon raised his eyebrows. “Me? I don’t go. I’ve got too many McDonalds meals in here.” He leaned back as well and rubbed his belly with both hands. “What about your dormmates? Do they go with you?”

Yuto shook his head. “Hyunggu’s not interested. Wooseok would rather play video games and steal my manga, even though he can’t read Japanese.”

Shinwon laughed. “Why does he even take your manga then?”

“He says he understands the plot anyway.”

“Does he tell you what the plot is?” asked Shinwon, just as he felt his phone vibrate. He kept looking at Yuto as he pulled it out of his bag.

“He tries, but I usually tell _him_ what he’s just read.”

Shinwon nodded, and glanced down. Jinho had messaged him.

**Jinho hyung**  
Hey, are you still at uni?

**Shinwon**  
Yes. Where are you?

**Jinho hyung**  
I’m at uni too, I stayed behind after class. I’m about to go home and I just wondered if you’re leaving as well?

**Shinwon**  
I’ll meet you at the front gates in ten.

Shinwon slid off his seat. “My housemate’s calling. I need to get going,” he said. “Don’t feel weird about coming to the party. We can always introduce you to Hwitaek and Jinho first, if it makes you feel better.”

Yuto smiled at him, and Shinwon took it as a yes. He left the bar and walked over to the gates, where he found Jinho already waiting for him. The shorter man smiled at him as he neared.

“How did you know I’d stayed behind?” said Shinwon.

“I guess I’ve got an instinct,” said Jinho. They began to walk away from the university. “I know, what are the chances, right? I take it you weren’t staying behind in the library.”

Shinwon gasped as loudly as he could. “How can you typecast me like that, hyung?”

“One, I just came from the library,” said Jinho, as he giggled, “and two, I can tell you’ve been drinking beer.”

“Alright, I _was_ at the student bar, and I found Yuto in there on his own. Has Changgu mentioned him to you yet?”

Jinho thought for a moment. “Is he the first year he met at the gym?”

“That’s him. Yuto was saying how he’d love to come to the Halloween party, but he feels a bit awkward about it. I told him to come along anyway, and we’ll introduce him to you and Hwitaek hyung.”

“I wish I had a hyung as thoughtful as you.”

Shinwon stayed silent for a moment, while he worked out how to respond to Jinho.

“Hey, come on,” he said, as lightly as he could, “you must have a hyung who’s nice to you.”

Jinho looked down at the ground. “You’re different. Nobody I know is as half as attentive as you are.”

“That can’t be true. I know Hwitaek hyung’s not your hyung, but he really looked after me and Changgu when we first moved in.” Shinwon paid attention to Jinho’s face for any changes, but the only thing he saw was the way he bit his lower lip.

“You’re right,” said Jinho, after another silence. He looked up again, and made eye contact with Shinwon. “He could tell I was nervous when we moved in last year. He did a lot to make me feel at home.”

“I guess that’s why you fell in love with him.” Shinwon decided to look straight ahead as he spoke, like he was just uttering a passing comment.

“Yeah, it was.” Jinho sounded just as distracted.

They didn’t say much as they walked through the high street. Shinwon wasn’t quite sure what else to say. On the one hand, he didn’t want to keep mentioning Hwitaek, but his patience with learning the truth naturally was fading. If only he knew what was holding them both back.

“Have you got your eye on anyone?” said Jinho, when they were waiting to cross the road.

Shinwon started. “I—er, I—why?” Well, that was subtle.

“I just thought, you’re so nice and, you know, good looking, that you might—that someone might have their eye on you.”

Shinwon’s face felt so hot that he wished he had a bottle of water with him, to splash on his face.

“No,” he said, “looks like I’m going to be single for a long time.” He stayed silent as the green man appeared, and he followed Jinho across the road. “Do you really think I’m good looking?”

The first thing that came out of Jinho’s mouth was a squeak. He didn’t look up as he answered, “You do look like a model.”

“What—what kind of model? Hand model?”

Jinho giggled. “No,” he said, “I was thinking catwalk.”

“When did you become so smooth?” said Shinwon, as a way of distracting just how much he was blushing right now. “What exactly _were_ you studying in the library, Flirting 101?”

Jinho squeaked again—but there was something about it that Shinwon couldn’t quite put his finger on. He looked ahead, and started when he spotted the lamppost that Jinho was about to walk into. Without thinking, he pulled his housemate by the shoulders, and then regretted it a second later when Jinho’s head and shoulders knocked into him, and he almost tripped over his own feet.

“Caught you in time,” said Shinwon, grinning. Now that he thought about it, this was probably the same lamppost that Hwitaek had saved him from last month. He was about to point it out and laugh about it, but when he looked down at Jinho and saw how he was burying his head into his chest, all he could think about was how cute Jinho looked in his arms like that.

“Thanks,” he heard Jinho say, his voice muffled. Then he managed to wriggle free out of Shinwon’s arms, and he walked so fast that Shinwon had to jog to close the distance.

***

Shinwon didn’t properly start work on his costume until Sunday, when he was sick of studying and was convinced that he was about to lose his mind. That was when he dug out a dark green t-shirt that he had been considering throwing out anyway from the bottom of his wardrobe, and he dragged a pair of opened scissors across the front and back. There was something satisfying about using the tip to unpick some of the stitching, and for good effect, he cut out a few parts from the hems and sleeves.

He was about to pull out the cat onesie from last year when he heard a knock on his door, and he spun around to realise that he had, at some point, forgotten to shut it. Hwitaek was standing in front of it, with Jinho behind him standing underneath his own doorframe.

“Hey,” said Hwitaek, “we’re not interrupting anything, are we?”

“No,” said Shinwon, as he walked up to the door. “It’s a good thing you knocked. I almost ruined my own surprise.”

Hwitaek’s mouth formed a perfect ‘o’. For a moment, Shinwon couldn’t look away; and then he seemed to catch sight of Jinho over Hwitaek’s shoulder, and he glanced down at the floor.

“You mean you weren’t having a breakdown?” said Jinho.

Shinwon laughed. “No, it’s part of my Halloween costume.”

“What are you going as this year?”

“It’s not fun if I tell you now,” said Shinwon, grinning. His heart softened when he saw Hwitaek’s pout. “Fine, I’ll give you some clues. I’m adapting last year’s costume.”

“And you went as…?”

Shinwon meowed and wriggled against the doorframe, like a cat scratching his back. In response, Jinho looked confused; and then Hwitaek clasped his hands together, his eyes wide.

“You’re going as Doraemon?” said Hwitaek.

Shinwon frowned. “Two things,” he said, “one, my costume last year was black, not blue; and two, surely _you’re_ going as Doraemon?”

“Me?” Hwitaek looked startled. “Why me?”

“Your hair’s blue, and you did buy a lot of white face paint.”

“Shinwon-ie’s right,” said Jinho, now sounding just as amazed. “You really look like Doraemon.”

“I’m sure I could make a few changes and go as Dorami,” Shinwon added, before he descended into giggles when he saw how baffled Hwitaek looked.

“I wish I’d thought of that,” said Hwitaek. “I’m not cosplaying this year.”

“Hey, we were only kidding. Let’s do it next year. You’ve got to be Doraemon, I’ll be Dorami, and Jinho hyung can be Nobita.”

“Deal,” said Jinho.

Hwitaek nodded. Well, Shinwon thought, at least that was next Halloween sorted.

***

Hwitaek began to decorate the house on Friday evening, the day before the party. The fake cobwebs hung off the ceilings, and plastic pumpkins were placed on the porch outside, and lined the hallway into the living room. Shinwon helped Hwitaek string up one set of fairy lights over the front door, and he grinned as he watched the ghosts light up in shades of red, orange, blue, and green. When it came to the living room, it took all four of them to tape the other set of lights up on the walls; and when they turned them on, the colours threw the dark room into a brighter, disco vibe.

“They’re so cute,” said Jinho. In the dimness, Shinwon could see the top strands of his hair lit up by the lights he was standing under. “When did you get these?”

“That Wednesday we went shopping,” said Hwitaek. Shinwon could hear his smile. “It was Shinwon-ie who suggested them.”

“Really?” Jinho’s figure turned on the spot. “I like how you think.”

Shinwon just nodded, pleased that the room was dark enough to hide his blushes. Then the lights came on again, and he excused himself as fast as possible before he ran out of the room.

The party wasn’t due to start until seven, so Shinwon didn’t change into his costume until an hour beforehand. He had worn the t-shirt twice before—once to check that he could still put his left arm through the sleeve, which was attached by the armpit alone, and the other time was to check how high up he should zip his onesie—but it was only now that he realised he had made a cut across the chest lower than he’d thought. The outline of his nipples wasn’t that far under the cut; and although he tried wearing his onesie underneath and then slipping the t-shirt on, it resulted in him barely able to raise his arms, and his chest felt constricted. He figured that as long as he stayed upright, he could keep his torso covered; and he returned to his original plan. To be secure, though, he zipped up his onesie to his waist.

All that was left was to smear brown and green face paint over his cheeks before he put on the cat ear headband, and a pair of furry gloves that made his hands look like claws. He turned and twisted in front of the mirror, satisfied with his efforts, and then opened the door to find Jinho coming out of his own room. His housemate was wearing his Harry Potter robes from last year, except this time his scarf was green and silver, and he had a blonde wig on his head.

“Are you Harry Potter again?” said Shinwon, frowning.

Jinho shook his head. “I’m Malfoy this year. He’s sort of like Harry’s rival in the series.” He pointed at his wig and, without meeting Shinwon’s eye, asked him, “Does this look alright?”

“It looks stunning on you.”

“Really?”

“Shinwon-ie’s right,” said Hwitaek from further down the corridor; and when Shinwon turned to look at him, he was convinced that he was about to drop dead.

The first thing he noticed about Hwitaek was the bright red lipstick, which only made his lips look even more kissable than they already were, and then he spotted the tips of some fangs just poking out from underneath his top lip. The burgundy cape that Hwitaek was wearing was the same one from last year, but the black pleather waistcoat and skinny trousers underneath were new. The waistcoat had three large buttons on the right side, and Shinwon noted how the v-shaped neckline stopped just above Hwitaek’s pecs.

“Ah, the devil’s joined us,” said Shinwon, as he forced himself to keep his eyes on Hwitaek’s face. He regretted his decision a second later, when he struggled to look up any further than his lips, and he settled with glancing at the collar of his cape instead. Then he began to think about how the burgundy complimented the lipstick shade, and Shinwon crossed his arms across his chest as he looked up at Hwitaek’s forehead.

“I thought this was obvious?” said Hwitaek, and he did sound a little disappointed.

Shinwon forced a chuckle out of the back of his throat. “I’m only kidding,” he said, “you look good as a vampire.”

“You really do,” said Jinho. Shinwon turned to look at him, and he could see the affection in his eyes as he looked Hwitaek up and down. Was that how Shinwon had been looking at him too? Jinho, however, was keeping his glare down, like he was slowly taking in just how well the vest and trousers clung to Hwitaek’s body. “I think it’s your best costume yet.”

“Thanks,” said Hwitaek. He leaned over to readjust Jinho’s wig just slightly, which caught his housemate’s attention. The moment their eyes met, they smiled at each other; and they remained fixed in place for longer than what Shinwon was comfortable with. He glanced into his own room, like he was double checking he hadn’t left anything behind; and when he looked back, he started when he realised it was now Hwitaek’s turn to check out his costume, although he seemed to be particularly interested in the cuts across his t-shirt.

“Are you a cat?” said Hwitaek.

Shinwon uncrossed his arms so he could show off the gloves better.

“Let’s pretend you knew I was a werewolf already, and we’ll call it even,” he said.

Shinwon turned his head when he heard Changgu’s door open. His housemate was wearing a hooded black coat; in his left hand, he held a mask that looked longer than his face, and in his right was a foam scythe that was shorter than him.

“Hello, Grim Reaper,” said Shinwon, as he slipped past Hwitaek and walked over to Changgu. “Where’d you buy the coat from? It looks good.”

“I found it online,” said Changgu, grinning. He began to look at each of them in turn. “Let me guess … Draco Malfoy, vampire, and…” He looked Shinwon up and down. “…werecat?”

“Close enough, I’m a werewolf.” The moment Shinwon finished speaking, the doorbell rang, and he began to walk over to the stairs. “I’ll get it. Let’s get this party started.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Halloween party gets underway, and it's the perfect time to drink, have fun, and think about Christmas.

Shinwon answered the door to find Hyojong and Hyuna standing on the other side. Of course they would be the first guests to show up. He was drawn to Hyuna first, who was wearing a long white dress that clinched at the waist. She had dyed a single streak of her hair white, and her dark eyeshadow and purple lipstick contrasted the white foundation on her face. Hyojong, on the other hand, had turned up in a green and red Christmas elf costume; and instead of wearing a matching hat, on his head was a red and white striped headband that had a piece of felt mistletoe dangling off a wire.

“Trick or treat,” said Hyuna, smiling, before she stepped forward to hug Shinwon. “It’s so good to see you again, Shinwon-ie.”

“You too, nuna,” said Shinwon. He pulled back to admire her outfit. “You look good. Are you Frankenstein’s bride?”

“You got it.” Hyuna looked him up and down as he entered the house. “Let me guess, you’re a werewolf?”

“That’s right.” Shinwon grinned, but then he looked confused as Hyojong entered the house as well. “Are you meant to be an elf?”

Hyojong marched right up to him, until the mistletoe just gently brushed Shinwon’s forehead, and he pointed up.

“Nearly. You’re standing under some mistletoe,” said Hyojong. His eyes were sparkling with mischief, just as it clicked in Shinwon’s brain what he was planning to do. “You know the rules, right?”

“OK, point made—” Shinwon said, as Hyojong grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down until their faces were level. Before Shinwon could do anything, he felt Hyojong’s lips lightly brush his cheek, and then his shoulders were freed.

“If you want to make out, go in the bathroom,” he heard Hwitaek say, and Shinwon looked over his shoulder to see him walking down the stairs. Next to him, Hyojong took a step forward, but then Hyuna blocked him as she met Hwitaek at the foot of the stairs and hugged him.

“There’s a problem with your costume,” said Shinwon to Hyojong. “That’s not scary to Hyuna nuna.”

“According to my babe, this represents the commercialisation of Christmas, and how retailers sell Christmas decorations ahead of Halloween goods, even though Halloween takes place two months before Christmas.”

Shinwon blinked as he processed the information. “Your costume’s the best.”

Hyojong put a hand on his shoulder and shook him. “You’re not bad yourself, you cute little werewolf.” He winked as he let go again, and then he slipped past to walk up to Hwitaek, who was now off the stairs and just watching them. Hyuna had disappeared into the living room.

“Why are you wearing that?” said Hwitaek, as he looked up at the headband. His face fell when he seemed to notice that he was now underneath it, and then he grimaced when Hyojong kissed him on the cheek. “Are you just going to go around kissing people the whole night?”

“Of course. What could be more fun?” said Hyojong.

“You mean scary,” said Shinwon.

Hyojong turned around to high five him, just as the doorbell rang again. This time, a group of Hwitaek and Hyojong’s classmates showed up. As they entered the house, Shinwon counted two witches, one zombie, one vampire, and someone in a hanbok. The only word he managed to say to them was hello; the moment the entire group had entered the house, Hyojong ended up herding them into the living room while making exaggerated kissing noises. Not that Shinwon minded; he just stood with his back to the wall, chuckling alongside Hwitaek as they heard his classmates yelping and screaming.

“He really is going to do that all night, isn’t he?” said Hwitaek.

“If Hyuna nuna doesn’t stop him, it looks like he will,” said Shinwon. “Do you think he’s going to kiss everyone at the party?”

“I bet you he does.”

Shinwon turned to face Hwitaek. “I bet you he doesn’t.”

“You’re on.” Hwitaek’s smile grew wider as he eyed Shinwon. “What’s the punishment?”

“Loser has to…” Shinwon was tempted to suggest they did something with Hyojong’s headband, whether it was something like being kissed by Hyojong directly on the lips, or just daring the loser to steal his headband, or even copy his costume for next year’s party. In the end, though, Shinwon just said, “Loser has to clean up afterwards, alone.”

Hwitaek pouted. “That’s so mean.”

“You better make sure Hyojong kisses everyone then,” said Shinwon, right as the doorbell rang again.

Groups of people kept turning up after each other. Hwitaek was soon swept away deeper into the house to entertain their guests, meaning that Shinwon stayed alone by the door for a while. He registered people by their costumes instead of faces; they had witches, zombies, black cats, vampires, devils, ghosts, a mummy, and the occasional cosplayer show up. If Shinwon met another werewolf, it soon became a running joke on his part that he either howled at them, or quipped about the lack of full moon that evening. Every now and then, he heard a yell come from the living room, which he assumed was Hyojong claiming another victim.

Shinwon was in the middle of letting in a group of six, all dressed up as X-Men characters he didn’t recognise, when he glanced at the stairs and saw Jinho coming down. It then turned out that the group were all Jinho’s classmates, and they waited for him to reach the bottom of the stairs before he was drawn into hugging each person, and complimenting their costumes. When the group moved into the living room, Shinwon felt Jinho wrap his arm around his.

“Do you want me to get you a drink?” said Jinho.

Shinwon tried to look as sad as he could, and he felt Jinho’s arm squeeze his own as he started to giggle.

“I am craving a drink _so_ badly but I’m on footman du—” Shinwon looked up at the stairs, and he noticed Changgu coming down. He was wearing the mask now, which resembled an elongated skull, and Shinwon waved to catch his attention. “Changgu, do you fancy watching the door? There’s still a few people who haven’t turned up, and I am _dying_ for a drink.”

“Who are we still waiting for?” said Changgu.

“Hongseok’s not here yet.”

Even though Shinwon couldn’t see Changgu’s face, there was a suspicious pause lasting a few seconds before Changgu said, “I’ll do it.”

Shinwon was practically dragged into the kitchen by Jinho, who seemed very enthusiastic to do something for him, even though he was sure his housemate had no idea how to mix drinks. It was mostly for this reason that Shinwon made Jinho pour him a Jack and Coke; and as he took his first sip, he saw Changgu open the front door.

“Yan An,” he heard Changgu say, as he disappeared out of view.

That was enough for Shinwon to march up to the kitchen door, where he saw Changgu and Yan An hugging. He could see the latter was wearing a black cape that was most likely designed for somebody shorter than him, and he scoffed to himself when he caught sight of the fake fangs his classmate was wearing. Didn’t Yan An know there were already plenty of vampires at the party?

Still, for the sake of politeness, Shinwon called out to Yan An and added, “Nice cape.”

“Thanks,” said Yan An, as he walked up to the kitchen. “Nice … nice ears. Hello, Jinho hyung.”

Yan An smiled so quickly upon seeing the shorter man that Shinwon rolled his eyes. He could feel Changgu’s stare on him; and since Yan An and Jinho were busy talking, he decided to go over to Changgu. At least it would make it easier for him to keep Yan An away from him, for Hongseok’s sake.

“What was that for?” said Changgu. He sounded confused.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Shinwon, and he took another sip of his drink.

“I saw your eyes roll.”

“Hey, let’s not go into all that.” Shinwon waved his free hand. “It’s going to ruin the party if we start talking _now_.”

The doorbell rang, and Shinwon opened the door with his spare hand. He was hoping that Hongseok was on the other side—this was the perfect chance, now that Yan An was distracted—but instead, he came face to face with Yuto, and two students he’d never seen before. Yuto was dressed in regular black clothes, but now with the addition of a black cat headband and a tail; the student to his right was taller than him and dressed up as a pirate, complete with a hook on his right hand, an eyepatch over his left eye, and a tricorne; and to the right of the pirate was somebody in a parrot costume who was shorter than all of them. The costume had a hood, which was currently up; a pair of eyes were printed on the sides, and a bright yellow beak sitting on the person’s forehead which, from Shinwon’s angle, covered up their eyes and nose.

“You came,” said Shinwon. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Changgu wave at them as he lifted up his mask. “Come in, come in, don’t be a stranger.”

Yuto looked relieved as he entered their house. The parrot followed him, and then Shinwon came up close to the pirate. It was only then that Shinwon spotted a few strands of familiar looking pink hair poking out from underneath his hat; and when he looked closer at the student’s face, he gasped as he recognised him.

“Have we met?” said the student. He was squinting a little at Shinwon too.

“You know Wooseok?” said Yuto, who sounded surprised.

“No,” said Shinwon, “but I think … you were handing out flyers, weren’t you? Didn’t you ask me for directions to the student bar?”

Wooseok’s visible eye widened. “I did. You told me where it was.”

Shinwon laughed out of amazement. “It really is a small world,” he said, before he turned to the parrot. “Now, I’m one hundred percent sure we’ve never met before.”

“Same,” said the parrot, as he smiled. He lifted his beak up a little, and it was the first time Shinwon could see his large eyes. “I’m Kang Hyunggu. I’m the one who made Wooseok hand out those flyers.”

As Shinwon tried to recollect what was written on the purple paper, Jinho and Yanan came over from the kitchen, and Yuto had the job of introducing everyone to everybody. It didn’t escape Shinwon’s attention how Yan An barely looked at Wooseok, but his glare lingered on Hyunggu’s face long after they’d been introduced. Just as Shinwon wondered whether he should sidle over to Yan An and annoy him enough to make him spill the beans, their group split up. Jinho lead Yuto, Hyunggu, and Wooseok into the kitchen; and Yan An decided to stand on the other side of Changgu and linked their arms together.

“Where’s Hwitaek hyung?” said Yan An, looking at just Changgu.

“He’s probably in there,” said Changgu, as he gestured down the hallway with his scythe.

“He was with Hyojong hyung the last time I saw him,” said Shinwon. Then he realised that neither of them had seen Hyojong’s costume yet, and the idea of Yan An getting caught under the mistletoe made him grin. “You should see Hyojong’s costume. It’s the best thing I’ve seen all evening.”

Changgu raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

“Who’s Hyojong?” said Yan An.

“He used to live here, before we moved in,” said Shinwon. “Look out for a pretty girl dressed up as Frankenstein’s bride, he should be with her—”

The doorbell cut him off, and Shinwon answered it. He saw the Iron Man costume first, and he instantly knew that it was Hongseok. He looked up to see his friend beaming at him, and then he pulled him into the most enthusiastic hug he could muster without spilling any of his drink. He just about heard Changgu cheerfully say hello, followed by a much flatter and quieter greeting from Yan An.

“You made it work,” said Hongseok, as he observed Shinwon’s costume.

Shinwon glanced over Hongseok’s costume too. He was wearing a close-fitting jumpsuit that had Iron Man’s armour printed on both sides, along with matching soft gloves, and a pair of red ankle boots. Resting on the top of his head was what Shinwon figured was the mask, even though all he could really see was the gold chin.

“Of course I did. You’re looking good too.” Shinwon looked over his shoulder, and hesitated when he caught the back of Changgu and Yan An disappearing into the house. Yan An had managed to brush his own cape aside with his interlinked arm, and it was clear that he was the one leading Changgu away. “I guess Yan An’s excited to meet Hyojong. Anyway, let me get you a drink.”

The moment Shinwon lead him into the semi-crowded kitchen, he heard Jinho yelp. He saw him standing on the other side of the table, flailing his arms and wriggling his hips to try and escape Hyojong’s back hug. Yuto, Hyunggu, and Wooseok were still there, but they had retreated into a huddle, all looking perplexed. Then Hyojong let go and made eye contact with Yuto, who was nearest to him. In response, Yuto tried to shuffle away even more, except he ended up bumping into Wooseok and treading on his toes.

“It’s OK, you can relax,” said Hyojong, “I don’t kiss strangers. If you don’t want me to get you, don’t stand under the mistletoe.”

“Stop bothering the kids, hyung.” Shinwon raised his voice as he walked up to the table. Hyojong looked at him first, and then his glare drifted just past him at Hongseok, and he began to approach them at a speed faster than what Shinwon was expecting.

“Hongseok,” said Hyojong, “I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Hongseok moved behind Shinwon just as he stepped up to defend him. Hyojong almost bumped into Shinwon, and the mistletoe brushed his face once again.

“Lucky me,” said Hyojong, looking up into Shinwon’s eyes.

“Unlucky me,” said Shinwon. He looked behind Hyojong, and he spotted Jinho dabbing his cheek with his sleeve as he ushered the first years out of the kitchen.

Hyojong sniffed, and wiped an imaginary tear away. “I thought you loved me.”

Shinwon rolled his eyes, and he pulled Hyojong close to kiss him on the cheek. As he pulled back, Hyojong placed his hands on his shoulders and lightly squeezed them.

“Oh, Shinwon-ie,” said Hyojong, as he let go. His eyes were glistening with mischief. “You’re just too skinny for me. I like my guys muscular.” He darted around Shinwon with so much speed that Shinwon didn’t dare move. Still, he could tell from the yelps behind him that Hyojong was chasing Hongseok out of the room; and a quick glance over his shoulder confirmed it.

He remained by the table as he finished his drink, and he was about to leave for the living room when a partygoer dressed as a ghost came over. He was holding onto an empty glass, which Shinwon offered to fill up for him. Once that was done, Shinwon then poured himself another drink, but he had no sooner put the bottle down onto the table again when he saw Yan An storming in. He was rubbing his cheek with his cape so hard that his face was pinkening. Changgu and Hongseok followed him in; the former was high on giggles, and the latter looked amused.

“Let me guess,” said Shinwon, loud enough to catch Yan An’s attention. “You got the kiss of death?”

“I’m sorry, Yan An-ie,” Changgu managed to utter, “but he reached up—”

“I need a drink,” said Yan An.

“Do you even know how to drink?” said Shinwon, as he watched Yan An pick up the soju from the middle of the table.

“Yes,” was all Yan An said, but his tone sounded so impulsive that Shinwon sighed.

“Let me fix you something you’ll be able to handle,” he said, and he took the soju off Yan An’s hands. He put it back, and then reached over to the counter to grab a clean glass. “Nice to see you’ve found each other at last, by the way.”

“I ran into Changgu when Hyojong hyung was chasing me,” said Hongseok.

“Did he get to kiss his dream man?”

“He kissed all of us.”

Shinwon shook his head as he finished pouring out the drink. He really hoped that Hwitaek hadn’t told Hyojong about their bet, because Shinwon had only been joking about it. If Hwitaek did lose, Shinwon was still going to help him out anyway.

He handed the glass to Yan An, who frowned and stared for a few seconds before he took the drink, although he never raised it to his lips. Not that Shinwon cared too much at that point; now was the opportunity to separate Yan An from Changgu.

“That’ll get you nice and tipsy for the rest of the evening,” said Shinwon, before he turned to Changgu. “Did you run into Hwitaek, by the way?”

“No,” said Changgu. “It got too crowded.”

“Perfect. You two stay here and relax, I’ll help Yan An find his favourite hyung.” Shinwon took Yan An’s spare arm in his, and then picked up his own drink off the table. When he felt his classmate struggle, he linked their arms even tighter, until it was like his elbow was pinching Yan An’s. “We’ll leave you two alone. By the way, I’d avoid the soju if I were you. It’s pretty strong, and we only have it because Hyojong hyung was pestering us for it.”

Shinwon marched Yan An out of the room, although he was careful to avoid spilling any of their drinks. He didn’t slacken his grip until they had entered the living room, at which point Yan An flung his arm free. Shinwon took a small step back, and he made sure that was blocking just enough of the doorway to get his message across.

“What the hell—?” said Yan An.

“Drink up,” said Shinwon, nodding at the glass in his hand. “I made that especially for you.”

“What did you do that for?”

“You can’t stick to Changgu for the whole evening. If Hyojong and Hyuna can manage to stay away from each other for more than a second, so can you.”

“Who—?”

“They’re a couple, they used to live here, and they’re the two clingiest people I have ever met.”

Yan An pouted, but it seemed he had nothing to counter with, so he took a sip from his drink instead. Shinwon stood on his tiptoes as he caught sight of Wooseok’s tricorne first, then Yuto’s cat ears, and a slither of red, white, and yellow that looked like the top of a parrot’s head. Unless he was mistaken, they seemed to be with Hyuna and Hwitaek near the middle of the room.

“I’ve found them,” said Shinwon. This time, he grabbed Yan An’s free wrist, and navigated his way over to the group in the middle. Hwitaek was the first to spot them as they neared, and he smiled as he moved aside a little to create a gap for them. Hyuna turned around as they joined the party, and Shinwon introduced Yan An to her.

“I hope we weren’t interrupting anything,” said Shinwon.

“You weren’t,” said Hyuna, “we were just listening to Hyunggu tell us about the dance society he’s in.”

“I’m part of the Modern Dance Society,” said Hyunggu. He was propping his beak up, and the sparkle in his eyes conveyed his excitement. “Quite a few nearby unis also have dance clubs, and we’re taking part in a dance contest, talent show type thing in January. Jaeyoung hyung really wants us to do well, so we’re hosting some preview sessions. All the dates are on the flyers Wooseok-ie was handing out.”

“I’ll check it out later,” said Shinwon, as he remembered now the row of dates written on the bottom of the flyer. “What about you two? Are you in any clubs?”

Yuto shook his head. Wooseok pressed his lips together in a kind of pout.

“I’m not really that interested,” said Wooseok.

“Really?” said Shinwon. “I thought you’d want to join the Japanese Society, so you’d understand Yuto’s manga.”

Wooseok rolled his eyes. He looked over at Yuto as he said, “I keep telling you, I _know_ the plot.”

Yuto smiled, and then began to question Wooseok about the plot of One Piece. Wooseok barely answered any of them, instead opting to answer one question with another. He alternated between turning the tables on Yuto—which never worked—or diverting the topic with his own related questions and anecdotes—which also didn’t work. Not once did Wooseok insist that he couldn’t understand any of the plot. Shinwon watched the two of them bicker and giggle like they were old friends; and it did amaze him sometimes when he remembered that they had only known each other for two months.

“What kind of dancing do you do?” was a question Shinwon heard Yan An ask at one point. It didn’t seem to be directed to Wooseok or Yuto; and he glanced over to see his classmate looking at Hyunggu.

“Modern stuff,” said Hyunggu. “Street, hip hop, er, stuff like that, really.”

“What about your society friends?”

“We’re all modern. None of us are trained in ballet or … like, none of us have any idea how to use a sangmo or … or other traditional stuff.”

Yan An nodded along, but Shinwon could tell from his face that he wasn’t quite following Hyunggu’s words. The shorter man must have sensed this, because he added, “Do you know what a sangmo is?”

“It … isn’t it…?” Yan An kept waving his hands in a large circle. “That…it’s a hat…?”

Hyunggu started to explain, and that was when Shinwon turned back to Yuto and Wooseok bickering. For a while, his attention was divided between the two conversations, until he noticed that Yan An and Hyunggu were drifting away from their group. At first, they had taken a few small steps back from everyone else, but then they retreated further and further until they just seemed to disappear into the crowd. They hadn’t gone too long when Shinwon noticed Hyuna looking over her shoulder in rapid succession, and he figured that she must have noticed Hyojong.

“Excuse me, boys,” said Hyuna, when she turned around again, “I’ve just seen my baby, and I’m off to have a word with him. I’ll see you around later.”

Shinwon watched her turn around and leave; and when he looked further in the direction, he could just about see the mistletoe. He thought he could hear Wooseok say something about missing out on gossip, before he passed by them a few seconds later. Yuto followed him, although it was more because his wrist was in Wooseok’s grip. By the time they had caught up with Hyuna, she had already found Hyojong and was having what appeared to be a calm conversation, even though her arms were folded.

Then Shinwon turned around to face Hwitaek properly for the first time that evening. “So,” he said, “looks like it’s just us left.”

“Looks like it,” said Hwitaek.

“Between you and me, you’ve got the best vampire costume this year.”

Hwitaek hummed. “What about Yan An? He looks good as a vampire.”

“Yours is more creative.” With a grin, Shinwon added, “Have you converted anyone yet?”

Hwitaek also grinned as he answered, “I’m not craving blood _just_ yet. Have _you_ turned anyone into a werewolf yet?”

Shinwon looked around, and pointed at another werewolf that he could just about see past the three people separating them. “That’s my doing.”

“Oh really?” Hwitaek had his eyebrows raised.

“Oh yes. He was a zombie at first.”

“Aren’t werewolves supposed to bite humans as well?”

“Zombies are humans.”

“They’re _dead_ , Shinwon.”

“They’re still human. Haven’t you seen the music video for Like OOH-AHH?”

“Yes, but have you seen Train to Busan?” Hwitaek countered, playfully.

“I see your Train to Busan,” said Shinwon, smiling, “and I raise you Warm Bodies.” He paused, as it occurred to him what that particular combination of words could sound like. “I don’t—I’m not _literally_ raising warm bodies.”

Hwitaek laughed, and placed a hand on Shinwon’s shoulder. He gripped him with surprising firmness, like he was stopping Shinwon from leaving him, even though neither of them had the intention of breaking up their conversation any time soon.

“Warm Bodies is good,” said Hwitaek, “but The Walking Dead begs to differ.”

Shinwon had no idea what to counter with, so he decided to continue his train of thought. “I’m not a necromancer—” he said, “—hey, that wouldn’t be a bad costume for next year.”

“I thought we agreed to Doraemon and Dorami?”

“Let’s do it the year after. You _have_ to dress up as a zombie if we do that.”

Hwitaek gently squeezed his shoulder. “You’ve ran out of zombie films, haven’t you?”

“No. Who says I have?”

“Me.” Hwitaek smiled wide enough that his fangs were even more prominent now. His eyes had turned into crescents as well, and he looked so sweet that, if he had been a real vampire, Shinwon would have readily exposed his neck for him to bite into—

Shinwon yelled when someone elbowed him hard in the back, and he stumbled forward as he felt a small dose of his drink spill onto his hand. A startled and slightly tipsy voice apologised profusely at him; and after Shinwon forgave him, he then had to assure Hwitaek that he was unhurt, and their conversation moved on to other topics.

They stayed together as they talked and moved around the room, sometimes leaving for the kitchen to grab another drink. Jinho passed by them a few times, but each time, he didn’t get to talk to them long before somebody else caught his attention and dragged him away to another group of friends. They saw Hyojong and Hyuna a few times too, and the effects of her telling off was evident; they came to an agreement that, instead of being kissed by Hyojong, they would down whatever drink he was holding in his hand. Under Hyuna’s watchful eye, all the drinks he made was coke mixed with a shot or two of whatever alcohol he could get his hands on.

“Do either of you have any tape?” Hyuna asked them, after Shinwon had drunk what seemed like his fifth or sixth drink from Hyojong. “Someone stepped on Sunmi’s cloak, and it’s now got this massive hole in it that she wants to patch up.”

“There’s some in my room,” said Hwitaek. “It’s in the top drawer of my desk.”

Hyuna smiled. “Thank you so much. Come on, babe.” She hooked her arm around Hyojong’s waist and dragged him off in search of the tape, leaving Shinwon and Hwitaek alone once again.

***

It was safe to say that this was the oddest Halloween party Changgu had ever been to.

It hadn’t started weird; but if he had to mark out the turning point, he would say it was when Hongseok arrived. They had barely said their hellos when Changgu felt Yan An rest his chin on his shoulder, followed by a gentle tug of his arm.

“Let’s go find Hwitaek hyung,” said Yan An, directly into his ear.

Changgu hadn’t been able to answer when Yan An yanked his arm, and he was pulled down the hallway and into the living room, where a plethora of costumed people made it difficult for him to spot Hwitaek straightaway. It didn’t help either that the strongest light source in the room were the fairy lights; and after a short while of squinting and walking further into the room, Changgu caught sight of Hwitaek’s hair and cape. He was standing on the left side of the room, and he was busy talking to Hyuna and a werewolf.

“I’ve found him,” said Changgu. He held Yan An’s wrist, ready to lead him through—except his classmate slipped his hand away, and instead walked over to the wall, apparently more intrigued by the fairy lights.

“These are cute,” said Yan An, as he pointed at the ghost-shaped coverings. “Who bought them?”

Changgu frowned, but he still answered, “Hwitaek did, but Shinwon picked them out for him.”

“Oh.” Yan An didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Didn’t think he’d be into them.”

“Didn’t you want to—?”

“Changgu-ya—”

That was all Changgu heard, before he saw a blur of red and gold dart behind him and clung to his forearms for support. He looked over his shoulder to see Hongseok looking up at him; but before he could ask what was happening, he was then manoeuvred a little to his right and ended up facing Hyojong. The tips of the mistletoe brushed his brow.

“Oh, hi Changgu,” said Hyojong, as he also placed his hands on Changgu’s forearms. He squeezed them lightly enough that Changgu barely felt it. “You’re under some mistletoe, by the way.”

“What?” was all Changgu uttered, when Hyojong then pulled him down a little by the shoulders and kissed him on the cheek.

“You’ve got nice muscles, but I like my guys even tougher than you.”

Before Changgu could comprehend any of what was happening before him, Hyojong ran around him and he heard Hongseok yelp. At the same time, his arms were released, giving him the freedom to turn around properly.

“What’s happening?” said Changgu, just as he took in Hongseok’s costume properly. His clothes were tight enough that he could just about make out the outline of his six pack, and the muscles in his arms; and although Changgu had seen him work out without his top on countless times, there was something sexier about seeing Hongseok clothed yet revealing so much at the same time. If only he’d opted for something that showed off a bit more of his body too; maybe then, Hongseok could appreciate him back, see how much he’d developed over their many gym sessions together.

“I have mistletoe, and you all know the rules,” said Hyojong. Changgu turned to him, and with a start, realised that he was currently facing Yan An. The mistletoe was brushing the bridge of Yan An’s nose. “I’m Hyojong, by the way. I used to live here with Hwitaek and Jinho.”

“Ah, you are … you’re Hyojong hyung?” said Yan An.

“You know me already?” Hyojong’s smiled, but his eyes never left Yan An’s face. “Wow, can’t believe I’m famous already. Give us a kiss, would you?”

Without waiting for an answer, Hyojong sprung up onto his tiptoes and somehow— _somehow_ —despite their height difference, he managed to lower Yan An enough to peck him on the cheek. Changgu was fairly sure that both of Hyojong’s feet left the floor together at one point, but the way how Yan An’s face was scrunched up, and how he was rubbing the spot where he’d been kissed, was enough to set off the giggles in him.

“I need a drink,” said Yan An, and he began to walk off.

“He only kissed you on the cheek,” said Changgu, as he followed him with Hongseok trailing behind. Hyojong had already disappeared into the crowd.

“—I just need it—” Yan An was walking fast enough for the rest of the sentence to be made unintelligible; and Changgu said no more as he caught up with his friend.

They found Shinwon in the kitchen, who poured Yan An a drink before insisting that he helped him find Hwitaek. Changgu wondered where this sudden obsession with their housemate was coming from; but before he could ask, Shinwon was warning them about the soju as he led Yan An out of the kitchen, leaving Changgu alone with Hongseok for the first time that evening.

“Do you fancy a drink?” said Hongseok.

“Yeah, sure,” said Changgu. Oh, he was going to need a drink after all that.

They spent a few minutes picking up the bottles on the table and looking over each label thoroughly. Changgu wasn’t quite sure why he was bothering though, given that he barely recognised any of the brands. Hongseok also seemed a little distracted; and the two of them walked over to the side, and cracked open a can of coke each.

“So, how come you’re the Grim Reaper?” said Hongseok. They were both leaning on the kitchen counter.

“It was the best costume I could find,” said Changgu. “What about you? Is Iron Man your favourite Avenger?”

Changgu smiled as he saw how Hongseok’s eyes lit up, and he had the pleasure of listening to his friend give a detailed, passionate answer. This was perhaps the first time he’d seen Hongseok so animated; he was always cheerful to him and Yuto on the Tuesdays they worked out and ate together, but never had he been given a chance to speak on a single topic for so long. Changgu was so engrossed that his drink remained untouched on the counter, and his mind filtered out the chatter from other partygoers in the kitchen.

“—so, yeah, that’s why Iron Man’s my favourite,” Hongseok concluded. It took Changgu a few seconds to realise that he’d finished; and when he did, enough time had elapsed for Hongseok to look down at his own drink as his cheeks pinkened. “Sorry, you probably weren’t expecting me to ramble on and on—”

Changgu’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, no,” he said, “it’s fine. I was just … it was so cool to hear how much you love Iron Man. I wish I’d put more effort behind my costume, you know, rather than just order the first thing I found on the internet.”

Hongseok frowned. “Don’t say that,” he said. “That coat looks good on you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, makes you look nice and tall.”

“Taller than you?” Changgu grinned.

“Don’t push your luck.” Hongseok wagged his finger at him. “What does your mask look like?”

“It’s just a skull.” Changgu pulled his mask down over his face, and he picked up his scythe. Through the eyeholes, he could see Hongseok taking in his whole costume. “I don’t think I’ve seen your mask either.”

“I don’t think I’ve even _shown_ it to anyone yet.” Hongseok pulled his mask down and then held out his arms on either side of him, with the palms facing Changgu.

“It’s like a buffer Tony Stark’s in the room,” said Changgu. He grimaced a second later; did he really just say that out loud? Hiding behind a mask had clearly emboldened him, and he was relieved that Hongseok wouldn’t be able to see him blushing.

Hongseok turned on the spot, seemingly just as affected as Changgu was. It took a short while before he said, “Let’s go and find our friends. I haven’t really seen anybody else yet.”

“Let’s do that.” It was probably for the best, Changgu thought.

When they entered the living room, the first people Changgu spotted were Yuto and Wooseok. They were gathered more to the right of the room, and there was a piece of mistletoe hovering in front of them, which he pointed out to Hongseok. They had only taken a few steps in when Changgu heard Jinho calling for him, and he turned around to see his housemate approaching them.

“How did you know it was me?” said Changgu, and then he lifted up his mask.

“I recognised your scythe,” said Jinho, smiling. He had his left hand pressing down on his wig, which had slipped forward. He looked at Hongseok, and frowned. “Have we met before?”

“It’s me,” said Hongseok, as he took off his mask.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t recognise you. I like your outfit.”

“Thank you. Do you need a hand?” Hongseok didn’t wait for an answer; he stepped forward, and helped Jinho readjust his wig. Changgu just smiled as he watched on.

“Let me guess,” said Hongseok, when he was finished, “you’re Draco Malfoy, right?”

Jinho beamed. “I am.”

“Are you a big fan of Harry Potter?”

“I love it. I’ve got all the books at home, and all the spin-offs.”

“Did you ever sign up for Pottermore?”

“I did.” Jinho’s eyes were sparkling in a way Changgu had never seen before. “I signed up the moment they opened the website to everyone. I had to stay up really late for that.”

Hongseok smiled. “Let me guess, you were sorted into … Ravenclaw?”

Jinho looked bemused. “How did you know?”

Changgu’s unfamiliarity to the books meant that he had only the vaguest idea of how the four houses were organised. He asked them, “Is Ravenclaw the one with all the intelligent students?”

“It is,” said Hongseok. “I thought you might be Ravenclaw because you fit what Shinwon’s told me about you.”

“Oh, really?” said Jinho, as he started.

“Yeah, he said you spend a lot of time studying in your room, so … I just thought it seemed like a Ravenclaw thing to do.”

Jinho chuckled. His eyes were still glistening, but it was out of interest and curiosity, rather than happiness like before.

“I was worried he was slagging me off or something,” said Jinho, lightly. “So, I take it he’s told you all about Hwitaek-ie as well?”

“Yeah, he mentions you both every now and then.”

“Out of curiosity, what house would _you_ say Hwitaek belongs to, from what Shinwon’s told you?”

Hongseok thought for a moment; but before he could give his answer, a tipsy partygoer dressed up as an X-Man butted into their conversation. It turned out that the intruder was one of Jinho’s classmates, and he soon took Jinho away with him to the other side of the room.

“Are you not into Harry Potter?” said Hongseok, shortly after Jinho had gone.

Changgu shook his head. “I’ve never read the books. I’ve seen all the films though, and I know that there’s four houses the students get sorted into.”

A few other classmates did stop and talk to them, but for most of the night, Changgu had the pleasure of having Hongseok to himself. They touched on a lot of subjects, but Changgu wasn’t entirely sure that he could remember everything; all he could recall was that he was really enjoying himself, and how cute Hongseok looked whenever he smiled, or worked himself up into an excited state. Oh, and Hongseok seemed to love making dad jokes. Changgu was in the middle of laughing from one such joke when he heard, not too far from behind him, a familiar voice speaking in an unfamiliar high tone.

“I’m a vampire. Vampires bite humans.”

Changgu’s eyes lit up as he spun around. He saw Hwitaek and Shinwon walking past them, arm in arm, even though they were separated by a few partygoers. Hwitaek was staggering and leaning on Shinwon for support, and his eyes were large and round as he looked up. Shinwon, in turn, was looking down at Hwitaek, with a smile so wide that his cheekbones were now the most prominent feature of his face. There was so much affection in his eyes that it caught Changgu by surprise.

“Hello vampire, I’m a werewolf,” said Shinwon, so softly that Changgu almost didn’t catch it. “I’m not human.”

“Yes, you are, when it’s not the full moon. _Nom nom_.” Hwitaek opened his mouth, presumably to bite Shinwon’s neck, but he ended up kissing it instead.

Changgu’s mouth fell open. It took Shinwon a few seconds before he eased Hwitaek off him, but then he tugged Hwitaek closer to him again with their interlinked arms, and the two of them headed for the doorway.

“Hello? Changgu?” said Hongseok.

Changgu jumped, and looked at his companion.

“Did you see them?” said Changgu. When Hongseok just frowned at him, he added, “Hwitaek and Shinwon just … they just walked past us.”

Hongseok looked around for a moment. “Oh. Was that Hwitaek in the red cape?”

“Yeah, that was him.”

“He seemed a bit tipsy.”

Changgu just nodded. He was trying to tell himself that he was just overthinking things; he knew Shinwon was just as eager to help Hwitaek and Jinho get together as he was. There was still a lot of love between his older housemates; Jinho blushed and smiled whenever Hwitaek was praised and vice versa, and from talking to them individually, it was clear that they thought highly of each other. Changgu had watched them stealing many glances in each other’s direction before; and on the Wednesdays when they went to the supermarket after classes, Hwitaek always bought something for Jinho, whether it was requested or not. Besides, when they’d returned home from the department store two Wednesdays ago, hadn’t he seen Jinho almost kiss Hwitaek on the lips?

Then he thought back earlier to their actual trip into the store, when it had just been him, Hwitaek, and Shinwon. They had ignored him half the time, instead too engrossed in their own in-jokes and provoking each other into giggling every few seconds. He’d seen the way they’d smiled at each other, and how easy it had been for Hwitaek to just slap Shinwon like he was his little brother. He couldn’t quite explain why Shinwon had ran up the stairs either, the moment he’d seen Jinho kiss Hwitaek—and even though Changgu had wanted to say something to him, everything he’d wanted to ask had felt too personal. If he’d been more convinced that there was something between Shinwon and Hwitaek, he probably wouldn’t have held back.

“Changgu?” said Hongseok, immediately snapping Changgu out of his thoughts. “Are you sure you’re OK?”

“I’m good, I’m good,” said Changgu. “I, er, do you know if Shinwon’s got his eye on anyone?”

Hongseok raised his eyebrows. “I don’t think he does,” he said. “Why?”

“Just curious. He’s told me about his exes before, but I can’t really, like, picture his type. I thought you’d know a bit more.”

“Well, both his exes were tall-ish,” said Hongseok, as he raised his arm to just under his ear. “About this tall, I’d say.”

“I remember he showed us a picture of one of them, and said that he was really ugly.”

Hongseok snorted. “It sounds like something he’d say. Are you trying to set him up with someone?”

“No way, it’s not really my thing.” Changgu shrugged. “You make it sound like it’s a bad thing to do.”

“Oh, it is.” Hongseok smiled, but he looked embarrassed. “I tried to set him up on a blind date, when we started college. I thought he’d look really good with this guy in my class, so I got them to exchange numbers, and I booked them a table at a really nice restaurant, and it was all going fine until they got there…”

Changgu stayed silent as he listened to Hongseok talk and, oh, he could really get used to this.

***

Both Shinwon and Hwitaek didn’t drink anything else after the last time they saw Hyojong, which must have been at least half an hour ago. Shinwon was still fine; and although Hwitaek could walk on his own, he was also in constant danger of tripping over his own feet, so Shinwon hooked their arms together and made Hwitaek lean on him. On the one hand, it was irritating that Hyojong had made them drink so much in the first place; but on the other, the fact that tipsy Hwitaek meant he was stuck in aegyo mode was fast becoming the most endearing thing about him.

When Shinwon felt Hwitaek kiss his neck, his heart seemed to stop beating at that exact moment; and it took a few seconds for him to gather himself before he nudged Hwitaek away.

“Come on,” said Shinwon, as he tugged Hwitaek’s arm to pull him back over. “You’re going to fall over.”

“I wouldn’t mind it,” said Hwitaek, as he arched his head back once again to look up. His mouth hung open just enough for Shinwon to see the plastic fangs.

“I think you should take your fangs out,” he said. “You’re tipsy, and I don’t want you damaging your teeth.”

Hwitaek’s mouth opened even wider. “I didn’t think of that. You’re right.” He rested his head on Shinwon’s shoulder. “You’re always right.”

Shinwon didn’t answer as he led Hwitaek out of the living room. It seemed that most of the party was gathered in the living room; the hallway was clear save for a few zombies, all of whom were tipsy and stumbling about. Shinwon tried not to giggle at how much they were behaving like real zombies.

“In The Flesh,” said Shinwon into Hwitaek’s ear. For a moment, it felt like he was in a zombie film, and he was the hero guiding Hwitaek, the other leading actor, past all the zombies without making a loud noise.

“What?” said Hwitaek.

“In The Flesh is a TV show about a zombie who’s come back to life, and he’s being treated for it.” Shinwon gave Hwitaek a little shake. “Your turn.”

“Night of the Living Dead.” Hwitaek answered him so fast that Shinwon took it as a good sign that he wasn’t too tipsy.

As they passed the kitchen, he glanced in to see that most of the partygoers were gathered around the table. At the same time, he could have sworn that there were two people kissing near the back. He couldn’t resist looking in again as he climbed the stairs; and yes, not only were they snogging, but one of them was pinned up against the fridge. He made a mental note to thoroughly disinfect the surface later on.

There was nobody upstairs. When they made it onto the landing, Shinwon couldn’t help but ask Hwitaek, “Now, do you know which one’s your room?”

Hwitaek giggled as he pointed to his right. “I have alcohol in me, not amnesia.”

“I’m just making sure.”

Shinwon led Hwitaek to his room, and opened the door for him. Hwitaek slipped his arm out of his, and walked in to remove his fangs. Shinwon was about to follow him, except he looked up and started at the sight of Hyojong’s headband taped to the doorframe. When did he stick it there? The only explanation was that he’d left it there after Hyuna had borrowed the tape—but that had happened so long ago—he thought he would’ve noticed if Hyojong was missing the centerpiece of his costume.

“You _can_ come in,” said Hwitaek, as he appeared on the other side of the doorway. “Oh. Isn’t that Hyojong’s headband?”

“I’m pretty sure it is.” Shinwon looked down.

“When did he leave that there?”

Shinwon shrugged. Hwitaek looked at him, and their eyes met. His stare was so focused that it almost difficult to believe he was tipsy.

What one of them should have done was move as soon as they realised that they were both standing under the mistletoe—except they lingered just long enough to imply that they were okay, really, with the situation. Shinwon knew he should retreat, really, and laugh about how sly it was of Hyojong to set them up like that, and take the headband down; but his impulse decided to take one very small step closer to Hwitaek instead. At the same time, Hwitaek held his hand up like he wanted to stop him, but his palm ended up pressing Shinwon just above the left side of his chest.

Shinwon removed his gloves in one smooth movement, left one first then right, and dropped them by his feet. He felt Hwitaek’s fingers twitch.

“You know the rules,” said Shinwon. He could hear Hyojong’s voice in his head, saying the exact same thing to him so many hours ago.

“It’s not real, though,” said Hwitaek. There was no resistance in his tone.

“It’s still mistletoe.”

“But it’s not Christmas.” Hwitaek took a step closer.

“I know.”

Shinwon placed his hands on either side of Hwitaek’s neck, and ran his left thumb along his jaw while his right hand snaked across the nape of his neck and into his hair. Hwitaek leaned in to his touch, but it was Shinwon who closed the gap to kiss him.

Hwitaek’s lips were softer and plumper than he’d ever imagined. Just touching them sent a tingling sensation rushing through Shinwon’s entire body as his eyes fluttered shut. A part of him didn’t want to deepen the kiss; just this gentle, chaste kiss was enough to satisfy all the dreams he’d ever had of Hwitaek in his arms. Another part, though, wanted to push Hwitaek onto the bed and climb on top of him and strip him, take him right there—

Shinwon felt Hwitaek draw back, and he opened his eyes. Then he was pulled into the room, followed by a bang from behind him—and he was pushed down onto the floor, where he sat with his back pressed up against the closed door. Hwitaek straddled him as he kneeled down—Shinwon could feel his knees and thighs holding him down on either side of his hips—but he kept his figure straight, to tower over Shinwon; and then he stabbed his hands through Shinwon’s hair and kissed him.

Their lips collided hard, and Shinwon gasped when Hwitaek’s tongue slipped straight past his lips and into his mouth. He moaned as he kissed him back, and again when Hwitaek tugged a handful of hair. Hwitaek’s tongue explored him fully, leaving behind the sweet taste of coke and an underlying hint of all kinds of alcohol mixed into one bitter taste. Shinwon slid his hands around the small of Hwitaek’s back to pull him in even closer, and then he darted his own tongue into Hwitaek’s mouth, drawing a low moan from him.

Shinwon inched his hands higher up Hwitaek’s back, and he could feel his posture start to slacken. He ran his tongue over Hwitaek’s to fully attack every inch of his mouth, and he smiled into the kiss when Hwitaek whimpered as his knees buckled, and his arse landed on Shinwon’s thighs. Shinwon drew back to recover his breath, and he untangled Hwitaek’s hands from his hair before he dug his heels a little into the floor, and rolled them both away from the door. Hwitaek landed on his back and Shinwon laid on top of him. Hwitaek’s mouth was still red, but most of his lipstick had faded over the evening; the edges, in particular, now formed a fuzzy red halo around his lips. Shinwon lowered his head as Hwitaek raised his own, and their mouths met in the middle.

As Hwitaek rested his head on the floor again, he hooked a leg around the back of Shinwon’s thighs, and his hands resumed playing with his hair. Shinwon kept his hands on either side of Hwitaek’s head as he lowered his body as much as he could, until they were even more tightly pressed up against each other than before. A small part of him didn’t dare open his eyes in case this all turned out to be dream, in case that this wasn’t Hwitaek underneath him, kissing him back, responding to his every touch.

Shinwon arched his back a little so he had space to run his hand down over Hwitaek’s chest, to play with the buttons on his vest. He twirled the top one in-between his fingers for a while before he thumbed it through the buttonhole. Hwitaek just clawed his hair, and Shinwon took it as encouragement to undo the other two. When he slipped his hand underneath the vest, he felt Hwitaek smile; and when his thumb glided over his left nipple, Hwitaek gasped and broke their kiss as he jerked his head back.

Shinwon hated how empty his mouth now felt, and he pressed his lips onto Hwitaek’s neck as he rolled and pinched and fiddled with his fast hardening nipple. Hwitaek writhed, gasping, moaning, making so many other low, guttural noises that it was the filthiest thing Shinwon had ever heard. He could feel Hwitaek grabbing his hair even harder as he pushed down on his head with his fists, forcing him to kiss and lick and gently nip on his neck with even more intimacy. Shinwon moved his head as he started to kiss upwards again, running along his jaw and cheek and the outer corner of his mouth, before their lips touched once more and his tongue was back in Hwitaek’s mouth. Shinwon only pulled away when he had to recover his breath again; but it seemed to vanish again when he saw how heavy and dark Hwitaek’s eyes were, and those plump, wet lips that were still open.

“Looks like the werewolf wins,” said Shinwon, smiling.

Hwitaek smiled back, but he clicked his tongue and shook his head at the same time. He flipped Shinwon over onto his back and straddled him on his lower thighs. This time, he sat down on Shinwon’s knees; and in one swift movement, he unzipped the onesie all the way down to the crotch. The ball of his palms dug into Shinwon’s belly, just above the band of his boxers, and he pushed the hem of his t-shirt up until it was scrunched up underneath his armpits. Shinwon, at this point, had outstretched his arms above his head; and his face flushed as he watched Hwitaek slowly scanning his body, and how he bit his lower lip as his glare settled on his boxers. Shinwon had gone further than this before, and yet right now, he was feeling the most exposed he’d ever been.

“Hwitaek-ie … hyung…” Shinwon managed to utter, after a while of just lying there while Hwitaek checked him out again and again. He needed Hwitaek’s lips on his again, his body on his; he wanted to strip him even more until they were both as exposed as each other.

Hwitaek grinned as he leaned in, until his whole body was lying on top of Shinwon’s and their lips were almost touching.

“I think the vampire wins,” said Hwitaek, and he kissed Shinwon again.

Shinwon whined as he really took notice of the cool, hard pleather of Hwitaek’s trousers grinding against his belly, and his soft cotton boxers. Sure, Hwitaek was moaning too, but he wanted to hear the dirtiest sounds again; and he brought one arm down to slide under the vest once more. The moment he fiddled with Hwitaek’s other nipple, he felt a shudder run through his housemate’s body as he moaned, sloppily, into his mouth.

It crossed Shinwon’s mind that he’d learnt about Hwitaek’s sensitive nipples from somewhere—and then he remembered that he’d seen Jinho do it, at the housewarming party from so long ago. That was it; he had Jinho to thank, really—

Jinho.

_Shit._

Shinwon opened his eyes wide as he pushed Hwitaek away by the shoulders. He forced his housemate to roll off him, and then scrambled to sit in front of the door. He tried to zip up his onesie again, but no matter how hard he shook, the zip wasn’t budging. Shinwon pressed his knees together as he ended up pinching the onesie with both hands in an attempt to cover up as much of his boxers as he could.

Hwitaek frowned at him—until his eyes widened as well, and he got up on his knees and crossed his arms across his chest. The lower half of his vest just hung open, revealing his abdomen. They stared at each other, gasping for breath. There was no need to talk; Shinwon just knew that Hwitaek was also thinking about Jinho.

“I—” said Hwitaek. His mouth trembled as he tried to speak. He looked down at the floor as he stood up; and with some force, he managed to utter, “I should return the headband.”

“I’ll get the door.” Shinwon looked down at his own feet as he also stood up. He pawed around for the door handle, but even when he found it, he ended up rattling and shaking the door for a while in his desperation to just leave. By the time he pushed down and the door sprung open, his vision was blurred from all the tears he was holding back. Without looking behind, he dashed out of the room and straight into the upstairs bathroom.

Shinwon slammed the door shut with his whole body. He knocked his head on the door as he sobbed, and let his tears run at last. Kissing Hwitaek had been beyond everything he’d expected; he could still feel the remnants of the adrenaline that had been coursing through his body, and Hwitaek’s lips on top of his. He was desperate for Hwitaek to ogle over him more, touch him further—and yet, he could never have any of that while Jinho was around. His housemates may not have got into bed together for well over a month now, but he wasn’t blind to how often they looked so lovingly at each other, or how they spoke about each other.

Shinwon heard Hwitaek walk down the stairs, and he was soon left truly alone upstairs. Now he was free to wail as loudly as he wanted, and he cried so much that his legs weakened and he slid down onto the floor. He knew he should return to the party soon, or his absence would start to look weird; but the thought of running into Jinho or Hwitaek was too much for him. He didn’t want Changgu or Hongseok seeing him either; this had to be concealed from Changgu, and Hongseok would just know straightaway that something was wrong.

Shinwon stayed sitting down as he struggled and failed to collect himself. Every time he tried to think about anything but Hwitaek, his mind instantly reminded him of some part of their make out session. When he shut his eyes, he could still see Hwitaek straddling him, or even feel his hands on his belly.

Somebody opened the door from the other side, and Shinwon jolted upright as the edge smacked the back of his shoulder. He was prepared to slam the door shut again, except whoever was on the other side had noticed him and stopped, leaving a small gap for them to communicate through.

“Oh, sorry Shinwon, I didn’t know you were there,” came Jinho’s voice.

Shinwon clenched his teeth hard to avoid crying out loud, and he buried his face in his hands. This was karma at work, wasn’t it? Why did Jinho have to come upstairs? What was wrong with the downstairs toilet? Why did he have to use the toilet now, and not, say, one hour later?

“I wasn’t going to come up, but I caught Hyojong and Hyuna making out in the downstairs toilet, so … Shinwon?”

Shinwon flinched and tucked his legs up into his chest when he felt Jinho tap his ankle.

“Are you OK?” said Jinho. There was so much concern in his voice that Shinwon felt warm tears pooling in his eyes. “You … you’re not sick or anything, are you?”

“I’m fine,” said Shinwon. His voice cracked as he spoke, and he couldn’t hold in the sob that followed. He felt Jinho attempt to open the door wider, and he instantly pushed back.

“Shinwon, you’re scaring me.”

“I’m _fine_.”

“Open the door for me. Please.”

Shinwon dabbed his face dry as he stood up, but he still had to look up at the ceiling to force himself to stop crying. What he had to do next wasn’t difficult; he just had to lie to Jinho about why he was so upset, and then run away to his bedroom at the first opportunity. There were plenty of reasons why he was holed up, crying, in the bathroom; he’d drunk too much, or he was so pissed he’d become super sensitive to everything, or he’d had an argument with … with … with a partygoer that none of them knew, or … or even … just anything, other than that he’d just kissed the love of his life who was romantically attached to someone else.

When Shinwon opened the door and saw Jinho, though, his brain just stopped working. There was Jinho looking up at him with a frown on his face, and a very worried glance in those cute round eyes, and all the guilt just hit Shinwon hard.

“What’s wrong?” said Jinho. He took a step forward, and Shinwon flung his free arm to stop him.

“I said, _I’m fine_.” Shinwon hadn’t meant to raise his voice, but it made Jinho flinch to one side. Seizing the opportunity, Shinwon ran past his housemate and shoved his own bedroom door open.

He locked the door behind him and dived onto his bed, where he lay curled up for the rest of the night. He let his tears flow as his thoughts constantly drifted off to everything that had just happened; and through his misery, he fell asleep to a backdrop of shrieks and giggles and chatter of all the partygoers gradually spilling out of their house and into the night, happy and drunk.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinwon doesn't want to leave his room. Hwitaek doesn't want to stay in the house.

Shinwon awoke to a crick in his neck, and his eyes fluttered open to reveal his room was now bathed in sunlight. He squinted as he realised he hadn’t drawn the curtains from the night before; but when he stretched his legs to stand up, he stopped and grumbled at the pain that shot through his limbs, from sleeping in the foetal position all night. As he slowly outstretched his arms, his memories of last night’s party came rushing through his mind. By the time he’d recalled everything, he was sitting on the edge of his bed with his elbows on his knees, and his head in his hands.

Tears welled in his eyes again, and he dabbed them dry. He was mainly upset over how his relationship with Hwitaek was going to change. Gone were the days when they could joke and tease and prod each other; he was anticipating already all the awkwardness the next few weeks were going to produce. He was at a complete loss over how he was supposed to keep this a secret from Jinho and Changgu; they were definitely going to notice if he was behaving more seriously than usual, but he didn’t have the strength to pretend nothing had happened.

Eventually, Shinwon’s stomach rumbled badly enough that he had to leave his room to fix himself some breakfast. He unlocked the door, and was about to press down on the handle when realised that he was still wearing his costume. He couldn’t be bothered to go searching for a different set of clothes, so he took off his t-shirt and flung it onto the floor behind him, and then pulled the zip all the way up until he was nice and snug.

Shinwon opened the door, and peered down the hallway. The door to Jinho’s room was closed, but then he groaned when he saw that Hwitaek and Changgu had both left their doors open. If they weren’t in their rooms, then they had to be downstairs, and there was no way he could avoid running into them. He slammed his door shut, and turned on his laptop. He had snacks in his room, and he was sure he still had a few cartons of orange juice and a bottle or two of coke lying around somewhere. He would survive.

***

Changgu was certain he hadn’t seen Shinwon all morning.

He’d left his door open ever since he came upstairs after breakfast, and he’d spent his morning revising and working on assignments while sneaking glances at the door every few minutes. He always looked whenever he heard a noise from outside, and he’d waved at both Hwitaek and Jinho every time they walked past. At one point early on, he was sure he’d heard someone open and shut their door in quick succession; and sometime later on, he’d heard some knocking, followed by a pause and the sound of footsteps shuffling away.

The next time Changgu left his room was at half twelve, when he couldn’t stand his hunger any longer and he needed to make lunch. He was halfway down the stairs when he spotted Hwitaek slipping on his trainers by the door. His rucksack looked fuller than usual, like he’d stuffed more than just books inside it.

“Hwitaek hyung,” said Changgu, “are you heading out?”

Hwitaek jumped, and then relaxed again when he saw Changgu.

“Oh, hi,” he said. “Yeah, I’m going to Hyojong’s for the afternoon. We’ve got a project we need to get working on.”

“Don’t stay out too late,” Changgu heard Jinho call from the kitchen.

“I’ll try not to,” said Hwitaek, now raising his voice.

This was enough to make Jinho appear at the doorway of the kitchen. “You always say that,” he said.

Hwitaek smiled at Jinho, but his eyes didn’t change shape. Changgu took a step back. Right now, it was like he walked into a couple having a row, and he was tempted to just disappear upstairs until Hwitaek left the house. No matter how hungry he was, he could definitely wait a bit longer for food.

“I always mean it,” said Hwitaek. “I just … lose track of time. I’ll call you, yeah?”

“If you don’t, I will.”

Hwitaek’s eyes became crescents again, and he blew a kiss at Jinho. The latter blushed, and Changgu wished he _had_ disappeared upstairs now. A second later, Hwitaek turned back to the door, and he looked up at the fairy lights which were still taped there. Changgu thought he saw Hwitaek shake his head exactly twice, and then he was out of the door.

“Hey Changgu,” he heard Jinho say.

“Hey,” said Changgu, as he dashed down the stairs. The lights and the cobwebs in the corners were the only remnants of the party left; Hwitaek had packed away all the pumpkins, and as for the drinks, they had thrown out all the empty bottles and stored the rest back in the kitchen cupboards. Only the soju was missing, thanks to Hyojong somehow managing to take it with him, despite the fact he’d had both arms around Hyuna’s waist and had been busy planting soft kisses on the side of her neck.

“Does Hwitaek hyung always come back late?” continued Changgu, as he approached the kitchen.

Jinho sighed. “Once he really gets into his work, he forgets the time. Hyojong’s like that as well.”

Jinho looked into the kitchen, and then he ran back in to the stove, where there was a steaming wok placed on the largest ring, set to the highest setting. Changgu followed him in. There were a few dishes and bits of cutlery and the odd single chopstick stacked up in the sink already, but the main thing he noticed was that only three mugs had been placed in.

“Have you seen Shinwon at all?” said Changgu, as he walked over to the left side of the kitchen.

“No,” said Jinho. Even though Changgu could only see his profile, he could still tell that he was frowning. “I tried knocking earlier, but he didn’t answer.”

“What happened to him last night?”

“I don’t know. I just went upstairs to use the bathroom, and he was sitting on the floor, blocking the door.” Jinho was still facing the stove, and he kept stirring his cooking as he spoke. “I managed to get him to open the door, and he was crying, but he didn’t say anything to me. Then he went into his room, and I haven’t seen him since.”

Changgu nodded. Now that he was in the kitchen, it crossed his mind that he should cook something for Shinwon too. He knew they were a little distant from each other, but it still bothered him that something was affecting his housemate that badly.

“I want to check on him again,” said Jinho.

Changgu looked up as it occurred to him that he had the perfect excuse to force Shinwon to answer him.

“Let me do it,” he said. “I need to talk to him anyway about our assignments.”

“I don’t think Shinwon’s going to be in the right mind for work.”

“I’ll make him,” said Changgu, in what he hoped was a half-joking, half-serious tone. “I’m not going to fail the semester just because he’s in a mood.”

Jinho didn’t say anything as he finished cooking, and transferred his food into a bowl. Changgu, meanwhile, was looking into his cupboard and wondering what to cook. Now that he’d talked about Shinwon, he was growing impatient to knock on his door; and it was settled, then, when he dragged a pack of instant noodles out of the cupboard.

“Thanks, Changgu,” he heard Jinho say. He turned around, but by then, his housemate was heading up the stairs to return to his room.

Changgu ate alone in the kitchen, and nobody else came in even after he’d done the washing up, and poured hot water into one of Shinwon’s mugs. He returned to his room first to grab a few textbooks, and then he hesitated when his glance fell upon Shinwon’s werewolf gloves. He had found them lying outside Hwitaek’s room last night, with an indent in the right hand that looked like somebody had stepped on it. The only reason he had put them away in his room was because he couldn’t stop thinking about Hwitaek kissing Shinwon’s neck. He tried to convince himself that he was overthinking things, that Hwitaek had only kissed Shinwon because he was tipsy. Changgu knew that Hwitaek had finished the party tipsy; ten minutes into their efforts to clean up, Changgu had found him on sat down on the floor with his torso slumped on the sofa, and on the verge of dozing off.

No matter how hard Changgu tried, though, he couldn’t shake off the misgiving that he had stumbled upon something more. He decided to leave the gloves for now; if Shinwon had forgotten he’d taken them off, then returning them in person would only alert him that Changgu was suspicious; and if he was searching for them, then their appearance would cause alarm, and maybe even make him unwilling to talk.

Changgu walked up to Shinwon’s room with his mug in one hand, and his textbooks and laptop tucked under the other. He used his elbow to knock on the door, but it remained unanswered. As he knocked again, he added in a louder voice, “Shinwon, it’s me. I’m stuck. Can you help me?”

He was met with silence for the next few seconds, before he heard the lock click, and Shinwon opened the door. Changgu offered the mug first, but he hesitated when he realised that Shinwon was wearing his cat onesie from last night. His hair was dishevelled, his eyes looking a little red and glassy from crying, and the face paint was smudged and streaked all down his cheeks. Behind him, past the row of three empty orange juice cartons lining the edge of the desk, he could see that his laptop was open. Shinwon had pushed his desk chair back to answer the door; and by the foot of the chair were empty crisp packets, opened Peppero boxes and the foil, and his torn t-shirt from last night now crumpled up underneath the wheels.

“I got you some water,” said Changgu, when he looked at Shinwon again. “I thought you might be thirsty.”

“Thanks,” said Shinwon, as he took the mug. His tone was flat. “Did you need help?”

“Yeah, I do. Can I…?” said Changgu. Shinwon moved aside, and he entered his room. “Have you had lunch yet?”

“I’ll manage.”

“I don’t mind cooking—”

“Sorry about the bed.”

Changgu took the hint that the topic was over. He hadn’t even paid attention to the bed, but now he could see why; the sheets were ruffled, and the duvet had been shoved and rolled over to one side. Changgu tiptoed around the litter, and he perched on the edge of the bed. He placed his textbooks to his right, and his laptop on his knees.

“It’s OK,” said Changgu. He watched Shinwon shut the door. “Jinho told us you were ill last night. How are you feeling now?”

Shinwon sighed as he slumped into his chair. “I’ll manage.”

“You’ve still got paint on your face.”

“I’ll wipe it off later.” Shinwon swivelled his chair a little from side to side.

“Is that onesie comfortable?”

“Yeah.”

Changgu smiled, and his grip on his laptop tightened. “It looks good. Where did you get it from?”

“Online. Look, are you actually here to revise?” Shinwon demanded, in a tone so harsh that it made Changgu start.

“Yeah,” said Changgu, as he picked up the nearest textbook and placed it over his laptop. He had to remember that he couldn’t blow his cover. “I’m stuck on chapter ten…”

For the next thirty minutes, everything that Changgu and Shinwon said was related to their coursework. Changgu understood everything faster than Shinwon, and he had to revise everything out loud thrice before his classmate caught up with him. He could tell from Shinwon’s quiet tone, slack posture, and just generally sighing under his breath and propping his head in his hands that whatever happened to him last night was still affecting him; and the longer Changgu stayed in his room, he felt increasingly guilty over using the revision excuse so early on to barge into Shinwon’s room. Maybe the cleverer thing would have been to just offer him the water first, and see how that went.

There soon came a lull, and Changgu seized the chance to say, “You _can_ let me know if you’re too ill to revise.”

Shinwon shook his head. “I’m fine,” he said. “I’m just … I want, er, I think I’m just dehy—de-hy- _dray_ —thirsty.”

Changgu chuckled, and for a moment, Shinwon seemed to relax with him. “That’s a tricky word.”

“Too many syllables.”

“Yeah.” Changgu nodded. “Jinho hyung and Hwitaek hyung are really worried about you.”

Shinwon started. “Are they?” he said, and then he swung his chair around until his back was fully facing him. Changgu could just about see Shinwon raising his hand to his face.

“They haven’t seen you all morning.”

The room fell silent. Changgu closed his laptop loud enough to make Shinwon turn around. He’d seen enough to figure that Shinwon wasn’t going to admit today if something had happened between him and Hwitaek. If anything, the best thing he could probably do right now was just look after him.

“Thanks for helping me,” said Changgu, as he began to pick up his textbooks. “Are you sure you don’t want me to cook lunch for you? Or I could order some haejangguk for you.”

Shinwon ran his hand through his hair. “I’ve got some noodles in my cupboard,” he said. “Do you mind cooking them?”

Changgu smiled at him as he stood up; and as he headed downstairs, he was certain he’d seen Shinwon smile back at him.

***

Hwitaek had left the house dour; and the silent walk to Hyojong and Hyuna’s didn’t do much to improve his mood. He’d tried to keep his mind clear, but with every other step he took, he thought back to Shinwon. He could still see the dark glare in his eyes, and how red and slick and so utterly kissable his lips had been. Sometimes, Jinho came to mind instead—and it seemed the only memory he had of Jinho was when he straddled him for the first time. He could still feel the soft pillow and mattress on his naked back, and the strength of Jinho’s knees and thighs pinning his hips down—and that hard, steely glare in his eyes, so full of desire that it still made Hwitaek shudder.

In his muddled state, Hwitaek arrived at his friends’ house. He rang the doorbell; and when nobody answered, he rang it again.

“You could’ve let me know you were coming,” were Hyojong’s first words to him, when he opened the door. Hyojong was dressed in a dark green dressing gown that seemed to be the same shade as Shinwon’s shirt from last night; and his uncombed hair was sticking up at odd angles, much like how Hwitaek had left Shinwon’s hair after kissing him so many times—

Before Hwitaek knew it, he buried his head in his hands as tears ran down his face, and he started to wail. He felt Hyojong sling an arm around his shoulder and bring him into the house, all while he yelled for Hyuna. Hwitaek had no idea where he was walking, but he soon sat down on something soft, and someone eased his rucksack off him. He just about caught Hyojong grumbling about the weight of his rucksack, which made him chuckle before a fresh wave of tears appeared. Not long after, he heard Hyuna’s voice as well.

“Hwitaek, darling, what’s wrong?” she asked.

Hwitaek was crying too hard to speak, and he was grateful to feel a pair of hands on his shoulders, and another trying to offer him tissues. It took him a while to calm down; but even then, all he could do was mumble a weak, “I—I kissed—”, before he pictured Shinwon’s face and a fresh wave of tears ran down his face.

“You’ve done more with Jinho before,” he heard Hyojong say, somewhere to his left. “What did he do this time?”

“Hyojong—” said Hyuna, sharply. A pause followed, and then Hwitaek heard her say into his right ear, “You kissed someone else, didn’t you?” Her voice was gentle and full of kindness, and Hwitaek felt her gently grip his shoulders.

He wanted to answer back but he couldn’t find the strength to speak, so he resorted to nodding. There was a clatter, and then the seat to his left dipped as he sensed somebody sit down next to him.

“Who was it?” said Hyojong. A gasp followed. “It wasn’t Mingyu hyung, was it?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Hyuna. “He was with Hyungho the whole time. We caught them by the fridge, remember?”

Hwitaek shook his head. “I—I shouldn’t have kissed him—”

An even louder gasp escaped Hyojong’s lips. “ _No_ ,” he said, and Hwitaek had to look at him. Hyojong’s eyes were so wide that he could see the whites above his irises. “You kissed _Changgu_?”

Hwitaek jumped, and clasped a hand over his mouth. They were only two names in, and Hyojong was already suspecting his housemates. There was nothing comforting that he’d guessed the wrong person—he only had to adjust his answer, and the truth was out, just like that—

“Babe, stop it,” said Hyuna. Hwitaek looked at her; her glare was firmly on her boyfriend, but her eyes were wide in a way that suggested she had plenty to say on the subject to Hyojong alone. When Hwitaek turned to Hyojong, he caught him nodding at her; and his toes curled up when it dawned on him that they had misunderstood his reaction.

“No, no, no, I—” Hwitaek began to say, as he furiously shook his head.

“It’s okay, darling,” said Hyuna, “you don’t need to say any more.”

“ _No_ —”

“We won’t say a word,” said Hyojong, and he winked. “Your secret’s safe with us.”

“No, you—”

“How are you feeling, anyway?”

The straightforwardness of the question caught Hwitaek by surprise, and it halted any further protests that he was about to utter.

“It’s kind of obvious, isn’t it?” said Hwitaek. He thought the half-empty tissue box, and the soggy tissue he was clutching, was a clue.

Hyojong shook his head. “What I mean is, you are, by all means and purposes, a single man, yeah?”

“…Yes…”

“And just because you’ve got a fling going on with Jinho, he’s _not_ your boyfriend, right?”

Hwitaek nodded.

“So … now that you’ve kissed someone else, how does it make you feel about Jinho? Do you feel like you’ve cheated on him?”

“I…” Hwitaek hesitated. “Yes. I really do.”

Hyojong sighed. “Look, stop feeling so miserable. You’re _single_ , you’re allowed to kiss and shag as many people as you want.”

“I think what he’s trying to say—” Hyuna interrupted, in a firm voice that left no room for any disagreements, “—is that you shouldn’t feel like you’ve cheated on him, because you haven’t.”

“Chin up.” Hyojong clasped both of his hands over Hwitaek’s free hand. “What you need to do now is get some of last night’s soju in you, go home, and tell Jinho you made a mistake but you love him and want to be his boyfriend and date him for real.”

Hwitaek wriggled his hand away. “That’s not helpful,” he said.

“Why not?”

“I didn’t come here for advice.” Hwitaek shuffled forward until he was on the edge of the sofa. “I came here to work on our project together, and—and—well, I can’t face him—not at the moment—so—”

Hwitaek tried to tell them that he’d planned on sleeping over at theirs for the night, just to think things over in peace. Words failed him, though, when he saw how Hyojong’s eyes narrowed; and then, like he could read his mind, Hyojong darted over to the rucksack and unzipped it.

“Are you kidding me?” said Hyojong, as he pulled out Hwitaek’s pyjamas. The uninflated travel pillow followed, then the small bag containing Hwitaek’s toothbrush and toothpaste, and then an extra set of shirt, jeans, and socks for tomorrow. Hyojong only yanked out one corner of the duvet cover that sat at the very bottom of the bag, but that was enough for him to look at Hwitaek with a mixture of amusement and horror. “Ya! You could have texted me, you know.”

“You want to stay over at ours?” said Hyuna, her voice full of surprise.

“Just let me sleep on the sofa, please,” said Hwitaek. His bottom lip started to quiver. “I really can’t stay in the house tonight. I need to stay away from him.”

Hyojong tutted. “You’re going to catch a cold with that cover.”

“I couldn’t pack my whole duvet.”

“Please, what do you take us for, cheap bastards? We can give you a duvet and a proper pillow.” Hyojong paused. “Well, I say pillow, it’s more like one of my baby’s red cushions—”

“Don’t you dare, Kim Hyojong,” said Hyuna. “The cushions are there to look nice.”

“Our bed’s nice enough without them.”

“You can find a nice bed anywhere. I want ours to feel like _home_.”

“Home is _not_ moving a thousand cushions off the bed every night, and then you telling me off because I didn’t put them back the next day.”

“I can always use the travel pillow,” said Hwitaek. He shuffled his weight on his feet, now really wishing he wasn’t sat in the middle of an argument. At the same time, though, at least he was finally feeling something other than sadness.

“Shut up,” both Hyojong and Hyuna said to him, kindly, before they resumed arguing.

Hwitaek left them alone by tiptoeing to the kitchen, and he poured himself a glass of water. He decided that he would prefer to stare at the pastel pink tiles and the faux-wood cupboards than listen to Hyuna list the merits of having red cushions in the bedroom. Although the voices outside softened, he could still hear them talking; and he pulled out his phone. He considered calling Jinho now and lie about being held up by the project, but a quick glance at the clock revealed that it was only a few minutes past two. Sighing, he chucked his phone on the counter next to him, and began to think things over.

The thing was, Hwitaek couldn’t pinpoint when his feelings for Shinwon had changed. He’d always thought that Shinwon had a nice, perfectly balanced face that would get him wherever he wanted; and he’d always found it charming how the outer corners of his eyes were higher than the inner corners. He adored how his eyes narrowed and bags appeared underneath whenever he smiled—and not to mention his cheekbones as well. Hwitaek had felt a degree of envy over how Shinwon’s tall, lean figure made everything he wore look good; and on more occasions than he’d ever care to admit, he’d had to resist running his hands along his wide shoulders. He could still remember his surprise when he discovered that Shinwon never went to the gym, and preferred to eat hamburger and fries over bibimbap.

What really struck Hwitaek was that even though Shinwon jested loads, he knew when to be serious and sensitive too. He had to admit, the pumpkin thing had been annoying at first, but the more he thought about it, the funnier it had become; and when he started to get in on the joke as well, it had warmed him to see Shinwon smiling and laughing so genuinely, so naturally at him. Any reservations he’d had with Shinwon had crumbled quickly. If he really thought about it, he probably relaxed more around him than he did with Hyojong and Hyuna.

Hwitaek hadn’t meant to kiss Shinwon’s neck at the party. The intention had been to bare his fake fangs and pretend to bite his neck, because he knew that Shinwon would then pretend to have the life sucked out of him and it would be a fun, happy memory for them both. When his lips had touched him, however, an urge had sprung up to kiss him higher up his neck, and all along his jaw and cheeks and chin. When they had walked through the hallway and up the stairs, he had wondered just what Shinwon would sound like if he moaned; and it had triggered a deep, longing hunger inside him that had built up over two months.

Pure desire had motivated Hwitaek into dragging Shinwon into his room and pushing him down by the door. It was this hunger that had led him to kiss Shinwon hard and tug at his hair and unzip his onesie. His heart had felt ready burst out of his chest at any second—and he realised now that, for nearly a whole year, he felt like that whenever Jinho kissed him, or cuddled him, or laughed with him, or, best of all, when he submitted to Jinho’s will and let him throw him onto a bed and play with him however he wanted. He felt like that afterwards as well, when Jinho snuggled up to him and kissed him slowly, reassuringly, and then played with his hair until they both fell asleep.

He couldn’t be in love with two people, could he?

***

Shinwon could have stayed in his onesie all day; but at fifteen minutes past eight in the evening, he was forced to change when he spilt his bottle of coke on his lap. As he changed, he became aware of all the rubbish that had accumulated over the day, and he sighed. He picked up the t-shirt off the floor, shaking off a few crisp packets and cardboard boxes as he did so, and folded it in with his onesie. The cat headband was lying half-tucked under his pillow, and his gloves were—Shinwon turned around on the spot. His gloves were nowhere to be found.

The first time he searched his room, he started out calm but grew increasingly panicked. The second time around didn’t soothe his nerves. He chucked all his rubbish in the bin, like that would somehow make it easier to find a pair of rubber gloves, and conducted a third search, but his gloves were still missing. Then he gasped when he remembered that he’d dropped them by Hwitaek’s door, and he dashed out of his room.

Hwitaek’s door was closed, and he furiously knocked. Hwitaek had to have the gloves; if it was in Jinho or Changgu’s hands, then he really didn’t know how to explain it away—

“He’s not in,” he heard Changgu say. Shinwon jumped, and turned around.

When did Changgu open his door? Shinwon could have sworn that it had been shut a few seconds ago. Changgu was sat at his desk, surrounded by open textbooks and novels that had, by the look of things, stuck to every other page those small, Post-it tabs that came in packs of four colours.

“What?” said Shinwon, after a few seconds.

Changgu frowned. “Hwitaek hyung hasn’t been in since lunchtime.”

“Oh, right, I didn’t know. Where did he go?”

“He’s working on a project with Hyojong hyung. He just phoned Jinho, actually. He’s staying over at Hyojong’s tonight.”

Shinwon nodded, and exhaled a breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding in. At least he wouldn’t have to face Hwitaek just yet.

“Are you alright?” said Changgu. “You’re looking really … pale.”

Shinwon stared; was it really that obvious? He leaned against Hwitaek’s door, and then started when he remembered that he’d been pressed up on the other side not too long ago.

“I … did you find my gloves, by any chance? When you were tidying away?” Shinwon figured he might as well ask, since Changgu could clearly tell that he was in distress.

Changgu took a while to answer. He bowed his head a little, and his eyes were darting from left to right, like he was deep in thought.

“No,” said Changgu, without raising his head. “I don’t think I did.”

“OK.” Shinwon clenched his hands. He was going to trust that the gloves were in Hwitaek’s room; he really didn’t fancy going to ask Jinho right now. “If it turns up, let me know, yeah?”

“Will do.”

***

Shinwon didn’t loiter at university the next day. He turned up to class with one minute to spare, and he was the first person out the door when it ended. All he could think about was returning home, but he stopped when he heard his phone ring, and wondered why Hongseok was calling him.

“Where are you?” said Hongseok, the moment the call connected.

Shinwon frowned. “I’m going home,” he said.

He heard Hongseok sigh, followed by the faint scraping of a chair in the background. “You said you’d meet me after your class. Where are you?”

Shinwon clasped a hand over his eyes. He remembered now—Hongseok had been so excited to meet him—and then he looked around. If he’d been in a better mood, he would have laughed that he’d happened to stop right in front of McDonalds. Instead, he just flatly told Hongseok where he was.

“Go inside,” said Hongseok. It sounded like he was pushing a door open. “I’ll meet you there.”

Shinwon obeyed, and found a window seat. He dumped his bag on the seat across the table, and then slumped back and wondered whether he should have just ignored his friend. He knew that he couldn’t spend every waking moment thinking about Halloween, but was he really in the mood to listen to Hongseok talk about how fun he’d found the party?

Before he could make up his mind, he noticed Hongseok standing by the entrance and waving at him. Shinwon raised his hand in response. Hongseok then pointed at the counter as he headed further into the restaurant; and he came over five minutes later, now holding onto three paper bags and a cup carrier that had two large drinks placed in it.

“Let’s go back to mine,” said Hongseok. Shinwon got up, slung his bag onto his back, and followed him out.

That was how he found himself sitting, cross-legged, on the floor of Hongseok’s bedroom, in front of the coffee table they had dragged in from the living room. Hongseok had ordered two large hamburger meals, along with an extra portion of large fries; and all three McDonalds bags were ripped flat, with Shinwon and Hongseok using one each like a makeshift coaster, and the third had all the fries scattered across the top. The door was shut, but Shinwon could just about hear two of Hongseok’s flatmates playing a football video game in the living room.

“Are you feeling better?” said Hongseok.

“A little bit,” said Shinwon. Well, it was nice of Hongseok to treat him to a McDonalds, even if he wasn’t feeling that hungry right now.

Hongseok smiled, and then looked serious again. Shinwon figured that whatever he was about to say next would refer to Halloween, and he stuffed three fries into his mouth.

“Did something happen at the party?” said Hongseok.

Shinwon didn’t answer until he finished chewing. “You know something, don’t you?”

“Changgu told me you were ill yesterday.”

“That was yesterday. I’m fine _now_.” Shinwon picked up his drink.

Hongseok frowned. “Are you, really?”

Shinwon slurped loudly, like he was answering his friend.

“You _never_ forget when we meet up,” continued Hongseok, as he leaned onto the table. “Come on, what happened? You’ll feel better if you let it out.”

“That—that’s the point. I _can’t_ ,” said Shinwon, as he chewed on the straw.

“Why not? Did you sleep with someone?”

“No.” Shinwon grabbed a handful of fries and shoved them into his mouth. He felt a few drop down his chin and onto his lap.

“Did you kiss someone?”

Shinwon was still eating when he answered, “Only Hyojong.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of French kissing, making out, however you want to call it.” Hongseok’s eyes narrowed as he spoke.

Shinwon pointed at Hongseok’s burger. It was still in the box, but Hongseok had opened it and squeezed ketchup all over the lid. By contrast, Shinwon had kept his one closed.

“You should eat that, before it gets cold,” he said.

“Ah-ha!” Hongseok slapped the table. “You _did_ kiss someone.”

Shinwon started to pick up the fries from his lap. “I did not.”

“Oh, Shinwon-ie, I know you too well. You wanted to distract me, which means I was right. Who was it? Do I know him? Is he fit?”

“I don’t want to think about it.” Shinwon was still keeping his head down as he had all the fries in his hand now, and he had moved on to picking up imaginary ones.

There was a pause, and then he heard Hongseok say in a softer tone, “Ah. You, er, kissed someone who’s … already … in a relationship…?”

Shinwon nodded, and he felt Hongseok pat his shoulder. He closed his eyes the moment he sensed a fresh set of tears pool in them. He balled up both his hands to dry his eyes, just as he noisily inhaled through his nostrils.

“Does Changgu know?” said Hongseok. Shinwon shook his head. “Jinho?” Again, Shinwon shook his head. “Hwitaek?” Shinwon screwed his eyes shut as he forced himself to shake his head even harder.

“You’re … you’re the only … only one who’s worked it out,” said Shinwon. He opened his hands when he became aware, at last, of the mush the fries had now turned into, and he dumped them on the corner.

“OK, this is bad,” said Hongseok. Shinwon opened his eyes, and caught his friend eyeing the mush. “You would never mistreat a McDonalds meal that way.”

“Thanks for the food.” There was no energy in Shinwon’s voice. He reached for more fries, but this time only picked up two.

“Answer me honestly. Is the other guy still in love with their partner?”

“Yes.” Shinwon dipped his fries until the tips were fully coated in ketchup.

“Do _you_ really love him? Would you want to start a relationship with him?”

Shinwon put the fries in his mouth. He sucked the ketchup off the ends before he started to chew.

“Can you bring yourself to break up their relationship?” said Hongseok.

“Of course I can’t,” said Shinwon, agitated that his friend could even ask him such a question. “Why do you think I feel so bad?”

Hongseok sighed. “It’s obvious you need to talk. Communication is key.”

Shinwon rolled his eyes. It was easy for Hongseok to just sit there and spout all sorts of generic advice that he could find off the internet. Hongseok wasn’t the one who had to watch Hwitaek and Jinho flirt with each other nearly every single day. Hongseok wasn’t the one who was conflicted between wanting Hwitaek for himself, and helping Hwitaek turn his fling into a proper relationship.

“Are you ever going to eat your burger?” said Shinwon.

“You haven’t had yours yet either.” Hongseok nodded at Shinwon’s burger.

“At least I’m keeping mine warm. You opened yours the moment you sat down.”

“I don’t like mine soggy. You’re trapping a lot of moisture in that box.”

“I’m not—” Shinwon flipped the lid open. There was a dark patch from where some moisture had collected, but it wasn’t as bad as Hongseok was making it seem. “See? There’s barely anything there.” He closed the lid again.

Hongseok smiled. “That’s more like the Shinwon I know.”

Shinwon huffed. Well, if he was going to enjoy his free meal, he wasn’t going to keep talking about Saturday’s events. He was growing tired, as well, of feeling miserable all the time; and as he grabbed some more fries, he said, “I bet you had a better Halloween than me.”

Hongseok smiled, but he hesitated as he spoke. “Well, yeah, it wasn’t bad.”

“I’m sure the last time I saw you was in the kitchen.” Shinwon kept his tone steady. “I left you with Changgu, didn’t I?”

“You did.”

All Shinwon had to do was give Hongseok a little encouragement, and his friend soon started to talk about how much he’d enjoyed spending time with Changgu. If Shinwon had been more focused, he would have definitely asked him when the hell he was going to actually take Changgu out on a date, rather than just get all flustered because he was really certain that Changgu had been checking out his abs at one point. In the back of Shinwon’s mind, though, he couldn’t stop wondering just when he should try and talk to Hwitaek, because Hongseok was right, they had to talk at some point.

Shinwon left Hongseok’s just after three o’clock; but instead of returning straight home, he journeyed to the supermarket first to buy more coke, and also picked up a few cans of orange juice that he knew Hwitaek liked to drink. With his shopping out the way, he was left to contemplate on the walk how to approach Hwitaek, when to speak to him, and what it was he actually wanted to say. In his head, he could picture himself somewhere outside of the house, offering Hwitaek a drink and—

“Shinwon,” he heard Hwitaek half-shout from behind him. His voice wasn’t full of confidence.

Shinwon stopped. What were the chances that he’d end up running into Hwitaek now? He turned around, and watched Hwitaek slow to a stop directly in front of him. They looked at each other, but neither of them could quite keep up eye contact. Shinwon noticed how Hwitaek kept looking at his cheeks instead, and he opted to settle a little higher on his forehead.

“Hey,” said Shinwon. He tried to smile, thinking that it would somehow ease the awkwardness a little. His jaw felt clenched, though; if anything, he was probably worsening things. “I … well, I … I thought you were home, already.”

“I got held up.” Hwitaek took in a breath. “I was doing a project with Hyojong.”

“I know.” Shinwon looked down at his shopping. “Changgu said you weren’t—you stayed over at Hyojong’s, yesterday.”

“Yeah, I had a lot of work to do.”

“Are you thirsty?” Shinwon reached into the bag for the juice, and held a can out to Hwitaek. “I fancied a coke, and I thought you … er, you might want something too.” He noticed how Hwitaek’s eyes widened for a second, out of surprise; and, unable to resist, Shinwon added, “It’s not alcohol, I promise.”

Hwitaek chuckled, and took the drink. Shinwon let go sharply, and fished the bag again for a can of coke.

“Thanks,” said Hwitaek.

They stood to one side of the pavement. With their drinks in hand, they pulled the rings at the same time, and Shinwon downed half his coke in one swig. He licked his lips, and his whole tongue felt fizzy. Hwitaek seemed to be more interested in picking the ring pull.

“Hyung,” said Shinwon. He didn’t continue until he had Hwitaek’s attention; but even then, he took in a breath first. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did at the party.”

Hwitaek looked up, startled, and his hand froze. It took him a few seconds to say, “What—what are you—?”

“I was drunk, I shouldn’t have—I feel like I’ve got in-between—” Shinwon stopped. Just thinking about Jinho in this context felt painful.

“You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“I knew you’ve got a boy—you’re _close_ to having a boyfriend, and I still kissed you.”

Hwitaek bit his lip. He didn’t make eye contact as he spoke, “I’m _single_. I’m a—allow—I’m _allowed_ to kiss and shag as—as—many people as I want.”

Shinwon shook his head. “Just blame me for everything, and let’s … let’s put this behind us.”

It was Hwitaek’s turn to shake his head. “It’s my fault.”

Shinwon shifted his weight on his feet. This was getting too serious, too uncomfortable for his liking. Everything was his fault, he wanted to say, because he had never tried to keep his crush on Hwitaek in check. He could never confess he still fancied him; this was for him to suppress, on his own.

“It’s _my_ fault,” said Shinwon. “I know what I’m like. The last time I drunk kissed someone, it was my ex, before we got together. You know, the ugly one.” He tried to chuckle as naturally as he could. “At least I made a smarter choice this time.”

Hwitaek laughed, and for a second, it was like they had returned to how they were, before the party. The sound of his laugh was music to Shinwon’s ears, and he brought the can to his lips. He pressed his lips down on the rim, as a way of holding back a few tears. From the start, he knew Hwitaek could never really be his; but now that he couldn’t deny anymore that he would have to move on and find somebody else, it was like every little action Hwitaek made was out to sting him. Why couldn’t he have appreciated Hwitaek’s laugh earlier?

“That’s better,” said Shinwon, when he lowered his drink. “I hate being serious with you.”

“Me too,” said Hwitaek. He smiled a little, but Shinwon noticed there was a sadness in his eyes. “Thanks for the drink, by the way.”

“I’ve got more in here.” Shinwon ruffled the bag a little. “I’ll give you the rest when we’re home.”

“Was there a discount or something?”

“I’m just feeling generous.”

Despite Shinwon’s efforts, the walk home was still dominated by an awkward silence. If they made small talk, it was done with barely any eye contact. Shinwon made sure to keep his distance, so that neither of them could accidentally brush the other’s hand.

He was busy thinking about Jinho. By the time they returned home, he knew exactly what he had to do—he was going to have to talk to Jinho. If pulling him out of his room was difficult, then Shinwon would just have to visit him instead.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyojong talks to Changgu. Shinwon talks to Jinho.

Tuesday started out as normal for Changgu. He worked out with Hongseok and Yuto at the gym, and then went for lunch with them at a family-owned café just off the high street. They were talking about Halloween when Changgu’s phone buzzed, and he picked it up off the table when he realised a message had come from Hyojong.

**Hyojong**  
Are you at uni today?

**Changgu**  
Yes, I have a class at one.

**Hyojong**  
Cool. Can we meet at the student bar afterwards?

**Changgu**  
OK :)

“What’s up?” said Hongseok.

Changgu looked up. “Hyojong hyung wants to meet me,” he said, “but I don’t know where the student bar is.”

Hongseok gave him directions, and Changgu didn’t think much else of Hyojong for a while after that. They left the café together, and stayed as a group as they walked up to the campus. Yan An was already waiting outside the classroom when they arrived; and as expected, Yan An instantly hooked his arm with his the moment they met, and Changgu smiled at him.

“When’s the first session for the dance society happening?” was the first thing Yan An said to Yuto.

“The first one’s next Thursday at seven, in the main building,” said Yuto. “You should come. Hyunggu’s been really excited about it since Saturday.”

Yan An nodded. “Have you got a flyer?”

“No, we gave them all out.”

“You’re looking for this?” said Shinwon, as he just seemed to appear before them. He was holding onto a crumpled purple flyer.

“Yes,” said Yan An, and he took the flyer out of his hands.

“Slow down.” Shinwon raised his eyebrows. “There’s loads of these at the student bar.”

“Are you coming, hyung?” said Yuto.

Changgu noticed how Shinwon eyed Yan An as he answered, “Of course I am. If Hyunggu’s going to be a future star, I’ve got to get his autograph now.”

“I think he will be,” said Yuto, with a laugh. “He’s a really good dancer.” He was speaking normally, but it was still loud enough to cover the small humph that Yan An let out. Changgu would have missed it if he hadn’t been standing next to him.

“Are you coming as well, Honk?” said Shinwon.

“I am,” said Hongseok. “It sounds really fun.”

Changgu almost yelled when he felt Yan An squeeze his wrist. He looked at his classmate. Yan An was glaring hard at Shinwon, who in turn was looking at Hongseok with a grin on his face that didn’t seem to be completely directed at him. Before Changgu could say anything, though, their classmates started to file into the classroom, and he was dragged into the room by Yan An.

They sat down in the middle of the room, and Shinwon joined them a minute later. He put his bag down on the seat next to Changgu, but as he took his books out, he leaned over to say to Yan An—

“Yuto was just saying how excited Hyunggu’s going to be once he knows we’re all going to see him.”

Yan An’s face flushed, but he was looking at Shinwon through narrowed eyes.

“I wonder what Hyunggu looks like without that parrot costume,” Shinwon continued, as he reached into his bag. He had already taken out all the books they needed, and his laptop was open and booting up, so Changgu had no clue what else he was searching for. “I know he’s not ripped, because Yuto told me he doesn’t work out. I bet you he’s quite slender. What do you reckon, Yan An?”

“I don’t care,” said Yan An, in a lower voice than usual.

“Oh, that’s so nice of you.” Shinwon’s arm was still in his bag, but he had stopped rummaging. “Hey, Changgu, isn’t it _great_ our Yan An-ie’s making so many new friends?”

“It is,” said Changgu.

“Changgu-ya—” Yan An started, but he was interrupted by their lecturer. At the same time, Shinwon withdrew his hand from his bag and sat down; and Changgu turned all his attention to their lesson on hand.

When the lesson was over, Yan An was the first to finish packing up. He hooked his arm around Changgu’s when he was done as well, and along with Shinwon, they left the classroom together. They started to cross the campus, but Changgu was keeping his eye out for a set of yellow doors. When he found it at a building opposite them, he stopped and slipped his arm out of Yan An’s.

“I’ll see you both later,” he said. “I’m off to meet Hyojong.”

Shinwon frowned. “He’s meeting you?” he said.

“I know.” Changgu shrugged. “He said he wanted to see me at the student bar.”

“Do you know where that is?”

“Hongseok told me.”

A smile crossed Shinwon’s face. “Right,” he said. “Have fun with Hyojong. I’ll see you back home.”

Changgu watched as Shinwon grabbed Yan An’s wrist, and he started to walk away. He noticed how Yan An was dragging his heels a little, before he relented a few seconds later and kept up with Shinwon’s pace. Changgu looked away, and then headed off to the bar.

At first, he thought the student bar was a small room, until he realised that the opposite wall was shorter, and he could just about glimpse some tables around the corner. The bar lined one wall, opposite several booths on the other, and there were plenty of tables scattered in-between. He could see two TVs mounted on the walls, but he figured that there were probably more if he followed the turning. A few students were already there, quietly chatting away to the backdrop of a snooker game in progress around the corner.

Changgu spotted Hyojong standing at the bar and talking to a bartender. As he walked over, Hyojong glanced at his direction and waved.

“Perfect timing,” said Hyojong, smiling. “What do you fancy? This one’s on me.”

“I don’t really drink,” said Changgu. He turned to the bartender. “Have you got, like, an orange juice or something?”

“You don’t drink?”

“I only really drink at parties.”

Hyojong nodded, but Changgu thought that the way he was smiling didn’t feel natural. It seemed that he had something he wanted to say to him, because why else would he meet up with him? If anything, Hyojong seemed to get on better with Shinwon than himself. There was a similarity in their characters.

Hyojong paid for their drinks, and they sat down in one of the booths. The bench was long enough to seat six comfortably, maybe ten at a squeeze. Changgu chose the middle seat, and Hyojong sat opposite him. They chatted a little about Halloween, and how much fun they had, and how good it was to see each other outside of a party. Changgu did most of the talking, but he felt like Hyojong was studying him, listening to his words carefully.

“I was wondering,” said Hyojong, “you’re single, aren’t you?”

“I am,” said Changgu.

Hyojong cocked his head. “You interested in dating?”

“I … it would be nice.” Changgu had no idea why Hyojong would want to matchmake for him, but still, he appreciated the sentiment. He just had to convey that he was interested in someone, but in a way that wouldn’t make Hyojong pester him for Hongseok’s name.

“Look at you,” said Hyojong, waving his finger at Changgu’s cheeks. Changgu pressed a hand to his face, which felt normal. “You don’t have to be shy around me. I thought of you at the party, you know. I thought, there’s so many hunks here, I wonder if Changgu’s gonna get off with any of them.”

“I … I appreciate it, but … I can find my own partner.”

“Right.” Hyojong nodded. “I’ll take it you ain’t that into muscly guys.”

“No,” said Changgu, and he shook his head for good measure. At least Hyojong had done the hard work for him. “I’m not that fussed about appearance.”

“Uh-huh. So you don’t mind your guys short and tiny?”

“No. Personality matters more to me than looks.”

“That’s good. You know, Hwitaek-ie really likes living with you.” Hyojong lifted his pint to his lips, but he never took his eyes off Changgu. His glare was so intense that Changgu looked down at his own drink, which he had barely drunk.

“That’s nice,” he said. “I like living with him too.”

“From the way he goes on about you, it’s like you’re now his new number one best housemate.” Hyojong pouted. “That used to be me. He says I’m the _fourth_ best now.”

Changgu chuckled. As amusing as the thought was, he also sure that Hwitaek would have never said anything like that. It felt more like something that Hyojong would make up.

“OK,” said Changgu, and he took a sip of his juice. He watched Hyojong lean in a little. There was clearly something on his mind, and he decided that he might as well just get it out in the open. “Is there something you want to say to me, hyung?”

Hyojong started, and his eyes darted back and forth several times.

“I know what you did at the party,” said Hyojong, after a while.

Changgu squinted at him. His main memory was that he’d talked to Hongseok for most of the party. The total amount of alcohol he’d drunk equated to four shots, which he was sure wasn’t enough to make him tipsy. He was certain he’d been sober for the whole time, so what on earth had he done to make Hyojong talk to him like this?

“Hello, Changgu?” said Hyojong, as he waved his hand.

“I wasn’t drunk, was I?” said Changgu.

“You tell me.”

“What did I do?”

“I happen to know you got it off with someone.”

Changgu shook his head. “You’ve got the wrong person. It must’ve been another Grim Reaper.”

“You can stop denying it,” said Hyojong, grinning. “I heard it from the other guy.”

“From who?” Changgu leaned in.

Hyojong rolled his eyes. “Hwitaek told me, when he came over on Sunday.”

Changgu started. There was no way that Hwitaek would have said anything like that. He figured that Hyojong had to be testing him.

“That’s impossible,” he said, as he frowned. “Hwitaek must’ve been drunk.”

“Nope, he was as sober as anything.”

“I never spoke to him. I was with Hongseok the whole time.”

Now it was Hyojong’s turn to frown. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. What did he actually say?”

“All I know is that he kissed someone, and he felt really guilty about it. I then joked about it and asked him if it was you, and, okay, he didn’t _say_ anything, but he looked so shocked when I said your name that I thought it was you.”

Changgu leaned in so far that he could feel the edge of the table digging into his arms.

Hyojong continued. “You know on Sunday, he said he was coming to mine to do some work? The bastard planned on sleeping over at ours. He took his _duvet_ with him. I thought he was avoiding you.”

“I don’t get it,” said Changgu. “I didn’t do anything with him. Why—?”

Changgu gasped, and flung his hands over his mouth as his eyes widened. The only possible explanation was that Shinwon kissed Hwitaek. It had to be—no wonder Shinwon had been behaving so oddly over the past few days—he had kissed Hwitaek—oh good god, they had kissed—

Changgu felt the table tremble, and he realised that Hyojong was pressing down hard on it as he rose out of his seat.

“Who is it?” he said, as he leaned right into Changgu’s face. “Who did he kiss?”

“They actually kissed…” said Changgu. He was looking up, but his focus wasn’t on Hyojong. “Oh my god…”

“Who? Who?” Hyojong pulled back a few seconds later, his eyes now even wider than Changgu’s. “You think it was _Shinwon_ —?”

“It has to be.”

They fell silent for a moment, and then Hyojong cackled. Changgu watched him slump back into his seat, his face a mixture of surprise and disbelief. Hyojong kept laughing, and then he slapped the edge of the table, causing his drink to slosh and a few drops spilt down the side.

“Oh my god,” said Hyojong. “Wow. Tell you what, he’s _scored_ big time.”

Changgu ran a hand through his hair. Why was he so surprised, even though everything he had seen had pointed to this happening sooner or later?

“Is that the time already?” he heard Hyojong say. He looked over to see him rising out of his seat. “It was great talking to you, Changgu, but I—”

“Hyung, wait,” said Changgu. Hyojong looked at him, and then sat down again. “I’m not one hundred percent certain. I want to be the first person to talk to Hwitaek hyung and Shinwon about this. Let me handle this.”

Hyojong puckered his lips, like he wanted to argue back. “Fine,” he said, “but I want to choose the popcorn.”

Changgu frowned. “What?”

“It’s for the drama that’s gonna come out of this.”

From the way Hyojong was smiling, Changgu decided that the wisest thing to do was to let him go, and ignore the last few minutes of their conversation. When he was left alone, he remained sitting in the booth for some time, sipping his drink and thinking everything over.

***

When Shinwon returned home after class on Friday, the first thing he heard was Jinho yelping from the living room.

He dashed over. His first thought was that Jinho had tripped over something, or injured himself in some other way; but when he heard another yell followed by a giggle, he slowed down, and peeked in from the doorway. Jinho was sitting in Hwitaek’s lap, with Hwitaek’s hands locked around his waist; and Jinho was wriggling about, like he was trying to escape even though he was clearly enjoying the shower of kisses that Hwitaek was planting all along the side and nape of his neck.

Shinwon tiptoed away, and headed up the stairs. Ever since Monday, whenever he walked into the same room as Hwitaek and Jinho, he had seen Hwitaek cling onto Jinho like there was no tomorrow. It varied from simply holding hands or cuddling up to each other, to kissing his cheeks or laughing that bit too hard at a joke. Some of those times had felt like a deliberate move on Hwitaek’s part, if Jinho’s surprised faces were anything to go by. This was Hwitaek reaffirming that he was meant to be with Jinho, not Shinwon; he loved Jinho, not Shinwon; his future boyfriend was Jinho, not Shinwon.

As Shinwon entered his bedroom, he decided that he would have to talk to Jinho tonight. He had planned to leave it until tomorrow, but the more he thought about it, he decided that Friday was an even better day. If they stayed up until the early hours of the morning, it wouldn’t be a problem. If they decided to get a little drunk off the leftover alcohol from Halloween and spend the next day nursing hangovers, that was fine too.

With his newfound courage, Shinwon knocked on Jinho’s door at half past nine that evening. He was holding a shopping bag containing two of the bottles from Halloween, two cans of coke, and two glasses; and he was in the middle of mentally rehearsing what he was going to say when the door opened.

“Hey,” said Jinho. He looked down at the bag, and then up again. “Are you alright?”

“I couldn’t be better,” said Shinwon. He took in a breath, and held up the bag. “I thought you might want a break.”

Jinho’s eyes widened. He said, “That’s—that’s nice of you, but I—”

“You really do work too hard.” If Shinwon had been any calmer, he would have been busy thinking about how he could talk his way into Jinho’s room. Instead, he took one step into the room, and then another.

“Shinwon, have you—?” Jinho began, as he retreated.

“It’s fine if you don’t want a break.” Shinwon continued to walk into the room. “I don’t mind helping you revise.”

Jinho chuckled. “Are you sure about this?”

“Why not? I’m a Korean Literature and Language student. I understand words.”

Shinwon glanced around the room. Everything about it was tidy; all of Jinho’s clothes had been put away, and his bed was neatly made. The only mess he could see was the stack of textbooks that surrounded Jinho’s laptop. Post-it notes with close, neat, handwritten notes had been stuck into the pages, some more wonkily than others. Some had a corner folded in, while others were bent from being shaken around inside his bag.

“Where do you want me to put these?” Shinwon continued, as he gently shook the bag.

“Put them on the floor,” said Jinho. “Are you sure you want to stay?”

Shinwon grinned. “I’m just here to help you out. Read stuff out, help you jot down notes, that kind of thing. It can’t be that difficult.”

Jinho just smiled as he shut the door, and Shinwon settled down on his bed.

For the next hour, all Shinwon did was read out loud from Jinho’s textbooks, quizzed him on certain paragraphs, and made him recite things from memory; but by the end of the hour, Shinwon’s head was spinning so much that he flopped over onto his back with a loud groan. He covered his face with the textbook when he heard Jinho giggle.

“Are you alright?” said Jinho. Shinwon could hear him cross the room, and then he felt the edge of the bed next to him depress a little.

“I take everything back,” said Shinwon. He lifted up the book a little, to make himself clearer. “I don’t know how to read.”

Jinho laughed again. “You were very confident earlier.”

“My confidence was misplaced.”

“How about you fix us both a drink? I could do with a break anyway.”

Shinwon shot up. He let the textbook fall into his lap, and then winced as the weight of the book hit his thighs.

“Coming right up,” said Shinwon. He slid off the bed, put the textbook back on the table, and then kneeled down in front of the bottles. As he mixed the coke and alcohol, he said, “Your room’s really clean.”

“Thanks.” Jinho sounded a little confused. “Why, do I seem untidy?”

Shinwon shook his head. “What I meant was, if I had spent my entire evening revising in my room, it would look like a pigsty. Yours looks like you started revising five minutes ago.” He twisted around to hand Jinho a drink.

Jinho raised his eyebrows. “There is a thing called a rubbish bin,” he said, smiling, as he took his drink.

Shinwon clasped his hand on his forehead. “Oh, that’s where I’ve been going wrong.” He turned back to make his own drink. “I’ve been shoving everything under my bed.”

He heard Jinho cough like he’d choked on his own saliva. “Remind me to never look under your bed.”

Shinwon exaggerated a shudder. “Neither do I,” he said, as he unscrewed one of the bottles.

“I’m starting to think you just wanted a drinking partner.”

Shinwon whistled as innocently as he could. He tipped in what was roughly one shot, and then opened the other can of coke.

“Oh, come on, it’s Friday,” he said, over the pop of the ring pull. “You can afford to relax a bit. You’ve worked hard all week.”

“Did you do this to your dormmates last year?”

“I didn’t need to.” Shinwon picked up his finished drink, and took his place next to Jinho again. “We all revised, yeah, but we never spent our entire night locked up in our rooms.”

Jinho sighed. “I’ve told you before, my family are expecting me to do well.”

“I know, I know.” Shinwon sipped his drink. He figured that if he wanted to solve the problem with Hwitaek, he would have to find out more about Jinho first. It would help if he could get an inkling of what Jinho was thinking. “What do your parents do?”

“My parents?” Jinho’s eyes widened a little. “They’re both accountants.”

“What about your sisters?”

“The oldest is also an accountant, and the other one’s a trainee nurse.”

Shinwon raised his eyebrows. “Everyone’s so smart. Were you always the cleverest one in your class?”

“I was, actually.” Jinho grinned. “Let me guess, were you more like the class clown?”

Shinwon gasped loudly, and smacked his hand over his chest.

“How could you stereotype me like that?” he said. “I was the class clown _and_ the smart one, thank you.”

Jinho giggled. “How could you be both?”

“People can be smart _and_ funny.”

“No, only _you_ could.”

Shinwon eyed Jinho’s drink. He had drunk a little, but he was sure there wasn’t enough alcohol inside it to get him tipsy so fast.

“That’s enough flattery,” said Shinwon. “Tonight’s not about me, it’s about you.”

“Me?” Jinho frowned.

Shinwon nodded. “I feel like I barely know you. So, tell me … er … what’s your most embarrassing story from school?”

“I don’t have one.”

“Oh, come on, _everyone_ has one.” Shinwon leaned back a little as he took another sip. “I’ll start. Have I ever told you about that time I really liked this girl, when I was about eleven, maybe twelve? I thought I’d do something really cool in PE to impress her…”

Jinho nodded, and shuffled closer. Shinwon continued on, telling him the story with the occasional exaggerated detail. Jinho never took his eyes off him, and he nodded along and laughed in the right places. Then, when Shinwon was finished, he mentioned his own story, and it was Shinwon’s turn to fall silent and listen.

From there, Shinwon and Jinho began to meander on other subjects. Jinho talked more about his childhood, about his time at school and fond memories he had of his family, and when he started to realise that he liked men. Shinwon just listened, until his eyes were starting to water from fatigue, and Jinho was yawning in closer intervals.

“It’s almost one,” said Shinwon, when he checked his phone.

Jinho started. “Oh, no,” he said, “I wanted to get to the end of—”

“Forget about that,” said Shinwon, “look how tired you are.”

Jinho was about to say something, but then he yawned again.

“I’ll make up for it,” Shinwon continued, “I’ll come back tomorrow and help you get to the end of the chapter.”

“You mean you’re going to distract me again,” said Jinho. He hummed. “You could always help me next Friday.”

Shinwon raised his eyebrows. “What, you think you can wait an entire week?” he said.

“It’ll make the week more bearable.”

Shinwon looked down when he felt Jinho’s fingers gently brush the back of his hand. He got up off the bed, and began to tidy away their glasses.

“Oh, really?” he said. “Don’t come knocking on my door later.”

Jinho raised his eyebrows. “What if I do?”

“I won’t answer.” Shinwon giggled when he saw Jinho pout. “You can save that for someone else.”

“Alright,” said Jinho. “Thanks for tonight. I really enjoyed it.”

“Me too.” With that, Shinwon left the room.

He shut the door behind him, and then started. He was facing his own door again, where somebody had placed in front of it his werewolf gloves. Shinwon glanced over his shoulder, like he was checking if he had shut Jinho’s door properly, and then he looked down the hallway. There was a slither of light coming out from the crack under Hwitaek’s door; by contrast, Changgu seemed to be asleep.

Shinwon was tempted to just stay in his room and try to sleep. Instead, he put the gloves away before he walked up to Hwitaek’s door. He breathed in a few times, and then knocked.

“Come in,” he heard Hwitaek say.

Shinwon pushed the door open. Hwitaek was sat at his desk, with his laptop open and a pair of headphones around his neck. He had set up his microphone next to the laptop; and the only other thing on the desk was an opened can of orange juice, the same one Shinwon had bought him on Monday.

“Hey,” said Shinwon. He entered, and then shut the door and pressed his back up to it. He wasn’t going to run the risk of Changgu or Jinho overhearing them. “I didn’t think you’d be up so late.”

“This project isn’t going to write itself.” Hwitaek wasn’t making eye contact with him. “I thought you’d have gone to bed.”

Shinwon shook his head. “Nah, I’m a night owl. My dormmates last year decided to binge watch as many Stranger Things episodes as we could overnight. We stayed up for the whole thing, _and_ most of us had to go to class at nine. Mr Choi wasn’t impressed with me at all.”

Hwitaek smiled. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Anyway, you shouldn’t stay up so late. It’s not good for your health.”

“Did you come in here just to nag me?”

Shinwon stuffed his hands in his pockets. “No,” he said, “I also wanted to thank you for finding my gloves.”

Hwitaek frowned. “What gloves?”

Shinwon forced a chuckle. “My gloves from Halloween. Thanks for returning them, but you didn’t need to do it so sneakily.”

“You lost your gloves? When?” Hwitaek looked so confused that Shinwon figured it really wasn’t his doing.

“I, erm, I lost them at some point during the party. I already asked Changgu about it, but he hadn’t seen them, so I thought someone had stolen them.” Shinwon pulled a hand out of his pocket, and grabbed the door handle. He faked a yawn. “Never mind. I, er, oh dear, I’m exhausted, good night.”

In his desperation to leave, he didn’t really register Hwitaek saying goodnight to him. Shinwon slipped out of the bedroom, and leaned on the door to close it behind him. He stared at Changgu’s door. Changgu had been holding onto his gloves for nearly a week. It had to be his doing; gloves don’t just disappear for a whole week and turn up like this, especially when there were four of them living in the house and using every room every day.

Shinwon stayed staring at the door for a while, until he faintly heard Hwitaek moving around in his room. He tiptoed back to his own room, and tried to avoid thinking about anything as he got ready for bed. Still, it took a while before he could fall asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinwon learns why you should never just mix any two drinks together.

Shinwon couldn’t see the point of returning home on Thursday after class, not when they would be back on campus in two hours’ time. Changgu had a similar view; and along with Yan An, they decided to go shopping. Shinwon needed to buy another pair of jeans anyway, and Changgu was on the lookout for some new trainers.

Shinwon picked a pair of jeans first; and as Changgu started trying on various shoes, he noticed how Yan An kept praising each shoe he tried, and how he agreed with every decision Changgu made. Whenever they walked, Yan An always slipped his arm around Changgu’s; and if they ever separated, it didn’t take long for Yan An to reattach himself. Shinwon resisted the urge to tease him, at first; but when the time was drawing near for Hongseok to join them, he leaned in closer to Yan An and said—

“You’re so clingy, Yan An-ie, you’re going to make our friend jealous.”

Yan An wrinkled his nose. He looked like he wanted to snap back, but he had no idea how.

“Who?” said Changgu. “Which friend?”

“You know, the friend we’re about to see,” said Shinwon, as he nudged Yan An. “Don’t be shy. You know who I’m talking about.”

Yan An’s eyes widened, just as Changgu frowned.

“Hongseok…?” said Changgu. Yan An pulled a face. “No? Who’s he talking about?”

That was Shinwon’s cue to pretend to be interested in a t-shirt on the other side of the store. He often glanced over his shoulder, and saw how Changgu and Yan An resumed browsing through the rest of the clothes on the rail. Then Hongseok joined them, and there was no escaping the wide smile on Changgu’s face, and the grumpiness on Yan An’s, or how the Chinese student pressed his body to Changgu’s side. Shinwon just sighed. If he wasn’t mistaken, he was sure that Yan An had spent a lot of the Halloween party really getting to know Hyunggu—so why he was still fussing over Changgu, he really didn’t know.

Shinwon joined them again by giving Hongseok a back hug. He could tell that Yan An wasn’t ready to drop the whole jealousy question, so he talked over them by suggesting that they should return to campus, and he started to drag Hongseok out of the store. It took a little manoeuvring, but Changgu was soon walking with Yan An on his left, and Hongseok to his right. Shinwon was on the other side of Hongseok.

They arrived at the main building with minutes to spare. The dance society had taken over one of the dance studios, and there were already twenty-odd people gathered there. Shinwon spotted Wooseok first, who was talking to Yuto, somebody who looked like Hyunggu, and three other people he didn’t recognise. When he saw Wooseok look their way, Shinwon waved at him.

“Hyunggu’s over there,” said Shinwon, as he eyed Yan An. “We should say hi.”

He ended up leading the way through to their friends. The first person he noticed was Hyunggu, who was as short and slender as Shinwon had pictured him. His eyes seemed even larger now that he wasn’t hiding under a parrot’s head.

“You came,” was Hyunggu’s first words to them. “Thank you so much.”

“No need to thank us,” said Shinwon. “Of course we’d come. You really sold this to us at Halloween.”

Hyunggu giggled, and then introduced them to the rest of the society members involved, which totalled to ten people. By the time Hyunggu was finished, he was being called back to prepare for the performance, and the audience were asked to stand or sit near the back of the room.

Shinwon ended up standing next to Yan An, who in turn had been separated from Changgu by Yuto. Hongseok was next to Changgu. As for Wooseok, he was on the other side of the room, and leaning on one of the many gym mirrors with his arms crossed; but despite the distance, Shinwon noticed how he kept eyeing their group. At one point, he waved at him, and Wooseok responded with a smile.

The moment the music started, Shinwon turned his attention to the performance. Hyunggu was alone on stage for the first fifteen seconds, but that was enough to make Shinwon appreciate how good he was. Every move he made was flexible yet full of power, and the friendly stare was gone, replaced with a sharper, intense glare that made Shinwon shudder. Even when all ten dancers were on stage, Shinwon kept looking at Hyunggu.

Every now and then, Shinwon looked at his friends. Yuto never stopped smiling, and, by the sounds of things, kept praising Hyunggu. He mainly looked at Changgu and Hongseok, who both responded by also smiling and agreeing with everything Yuto said. Shinwon thought that Yan An would be seething, or at the very least trying to swap places with Yuto. Instead, he noticed that the Chinese student’s attention was fixated on the performance, and it didn’t take many glances for Shinwon to work out that he was also busy following Hyunggu’s every move.

Unable to resist, Shinwon leaned in a little closer and said into Yan An’s ear, “Caught you looking.”

Yan An jumped, and then turned to Shinwon. “Whatever you want to say to me,” he said, “wait until the show’s over.”

“Hyunggu’s really good, isn’t he?” said Shinwon, as Yan An looked away.

“He is.” A second later, Yan An cleared his throat.

“Would you say he’s the best dancer here?”

Yan An shushed him as his face flushed slightly. Shinwon reckoned it was out of a combination of annoyance and bashfulness. He grinned as he turned back to the performance; but he thought he could sense a pair of eyes glaring in their direction, and a few seconds later, he glanced at Wooseok. The latter was looking at Changgu in particular, though his glare did shift to Yuto or Hongseok, and he had curled his lip. Shinwon frowned, and turned to his other friends. None of them noticed Wooseok.

A round of applause broke out, and Shinwon clapped along as he looked back at the show. The music had stopped and all the dancers were gathered on stage, with Hyunggu standing in the middle and breathing hard. Then they broke formation as somebody sat at the front began to make a suggestion, and the dancers started to go over parts of the choreography.

Shinwon looked at Yan An. The Chinese student’s attention was turned onto Changgu again, and Shinwon drew him back by hooking an arm around his. He held on tight as he felt Yan An wriggle in his arm.

“You haven’t answered me yet,” said Shinwon. “Do you think Hyunggu’s the best dancer?”

“Yes,” said Yan An, without looking at him.

“Oh, Yan An, we’ve found something in common at last.” Shinwon tried to rest his head on his shoulder, but Yan An just shrugged him off. “Have you got his number yet?”

“No.”

“I’ll get it for you.”

Yan An freed his arm. “I can do it on my own.”

“Well, I need it anyway. How else am I supposed to get his autograph?”

Yan An frowned, and then shook his head, like he’d decided it wasn’t worth trying to deduce the logic with Shinwon. He turned instead to Yuto, and managed to integrate himself into the group, leaving Shinwon free to cross the room and stand next to Wooseok.

“Hey,” said Shinwon. “You alright, Wooseok?”

“I’m okay,” said Wooseok. He glanced at Shinwon, and his face became friendlier. He tilted his head at the dancers, who were still re-organising their choreography. “Hyunggu was the best, wasn’t he?”

“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Shinwon smiled. “He’s your dormmate, isn’t he?” Wooseok nodded. “Which dorms are you guys in anyway?”

“We’re in the Peace dorms.”

Shinwon raised his eyebrows. “That’s the one where all the students live in shared rooms, isn’t it? Who’s your roommate?”

“Yuto.”

Shinwon nodded. “I take it Hyunggu’s on the same floor as you then?”

“Yeah, his room’s a bit further into the dorm than ours.”

Shinwon nodded. “Random question, you ever thought about going to the gym?”

Wooseok crossed his arms. “No, it’s not really for me. Why do you ask?”

Shinwon shrugged. “I just thought, Yuto looks so good from going to the gym, that you might feel inspired to go as well.”

Wooseok chuckled, but Shinwon noticed how his arms seemed to press harder to his body.

“The gym’s not a place for me,” said Wooseok.

Shinwon leaned back, and poked the side of his mildly protruding belly. “Oh, I totally get you. I’ve had nothing but ramyeon all day.” He pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, like he was whispering a secret to Wooseok. “Keep that between us, yeah? If I tell Hongseok, he’s never going to stop whinging at me.”

Wooseok smiled. “Is Hongseok one of your housemates?”

“No. I’ve known him since high school, though.” Shinwon lowered his hand. “I’m living with Hwitaek hyung, Jinho hyung, and Changgu. Did you ever meet Jinho hyung, by the way? I don’t seem to remember seeing you two together.”

Shinwon waited for an answer. Wooseok’s face, however, had darkened, and he had turned his head to look at Yuto again the moment Shinwon had finished listing his housemates.

“Wooseok?” said Shinwon.

“Yeah, I met Jinho hyung by the door,” said Wooseok, as he returned his attention to Shinwon.

“Are you okay?”

Wooseok yawned by opening his mouth as wide as possible, to the extent that Shinwon started to suspect its authenticity.

“Sorry,” said Wooseok, “I’m a bit exhausted.”

“Let me guess, you stayed up all night playing video games?”

Wooseok pouted. “Don’t listen to Yuto,” he said. “I don’t play games _all_ the time. I was revising.”

“I’m sure you don’t.” Shinwon glanced at the groups. The audience and the dancers were starting to mingle now, and he spotted Hyunggu walking over to their friends. “Let’s talk to Hyunggu. I’m sure you’ve got loads to say about the performance, right?”

Shinwon walked ahead of Wooseok, and they joined the group again. Yan An was now standing in-between Changgu and Hongseok, but he was holding his phone with both hands. Hyunggu also had his phone out; and Shinwon neared just as he heard the two of them exchange their numbers.

“Hyunggu,” said Shinwon, to catch his attention. “That was a great performance. You’re such a good dancer.”

“Thank you,” said Hyunggu. He tucked his phone into his pocket. “Well, Wooseok-ie? What did you think?”

“I told you you’d do well,” said Wooseok. He walked over to Yuto’s side, and put his arm around his shoulders. He looked at both his dormmates as he spoke. “I’m going to head off to the dorm, I’m tired. Are you guys coming, or are you staying behind?”

“Jaeyoung hyung still needs me,” said Hyunggu. “It’s fine if you guys want to go early.”

“I’ll come with you,” said Yuto.

It didn’t escape Shinwon how Wooseok’s face brightened. Still, he kept his thoughts to himself as he bid them goodbye, and he watched them walk out of the room still interlinked.

“I saw you swapping numbers,” said Shinwon, as he turned back to Hyunggu. He then looked at Yan An, and winked. The latter pouted a little.

“I’ve been meaning to study Chinese for a while,” said Hyunggu. He seemed oblivious to what had happened. “I thought Yan An could help me.”

“Speaking of numbers,” said Shinwon, as he looked at Hyunggu again, “I haven’t got yours yet, _and_ I need an autograph from you. I need all the bragging rights I can get when you become a celebrity choreographer one day.”

“Stop it,” said Hyunggu, when he had calm down from laughing. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’m not going to be a celebrity.”

“Yes, you are. Don’t let the others know, but you were my favourite tonight.” Shinwon winked. “By the way, who’s idea was it for you to start the choreography? That was such a good idea.”

“Seungjoon hyung suggested it first.” From there, Hyunggu started to go into more detail about the choreography; and after Shinwon was done taking his number, he stayed quiet, and listened.

***

On Friday, Shinwon didn’t have the patience to wait until half nine before visiting Jinho. He knocked on his housemate’s door at half eight instead, once again carrying some drinks and glasses with him.

“You’re early,” said Jinho, when he let him into his room. “I thought you wouldn’t come for another hour.”

“I didn’t want you missing me so much that you couldn’t study,” said Shinwon. He put the drinks down on same spot as last time, and he sat on the bed again. This time, he was sure the pile of textbooks was higher, and Jinho had a jacket hanging off the back of his chair.

“You came early,” said Jinho, as he sat on the chair. He had his eyebrows raised. “I think _you’re_ the one missing me.”

Shinwon opened his mouth. “We’ll see about that, Jinho hyung,” he said. “I bet you’re going to ask for a drink first.”

Jinho wriggled in his seat, and swivelled his chair around to fully face Shinwon. “What if I bet you want a break first? What does the loser have to do?”

“Loser has to…” Shinwon eyed the drinks, and then gently nudged the neck of the nearest bottle with his toes. “Loser has to drink a mix of these two together.”

Jinho started. “Isn’t it a bad idea to mix them?”

“We’ll find out.” Shinwon leaned over. “You’re not chickening out, are you?” He thought that Jinho would say something along the lines of ‘yes’.

“You’re on,” was the answer he received. Jinho smiled at him, and while his eyes did change into crescents, his glare was full of determination. Then he reached over to grab a textbook, and he thrust it into Shinwon’s hands. “You can help me with this. I’ve got to reference a paragraph here, but I can’t really remember where I found it. I think it was on page 163? Or maybe two pages after that?”

They went through the pages one by one, and then they settled into revising just like last time. Maybe it was because there was a penalty on the line now, but Shinwon was confident a full hour and a half had passed before his attention started to wane. Every time he glanced at the drinks, his impatience increased; and when the sentences started to blur into one, he chucked the book aside and said—

“You win, hyung. I _really_ need a drink right now.”

Jinho smiled. “You don’t have to take the penalty. I wasn’t being that serious.”

Shinwon shook his head as he slid off the bed. “I said I’d do it, and I will.”

He ignored any further protests as he made the penalty drink first, before he handed Jinho a much milder concoction. He kept his smile up as they clinked glasses, and then downed his drink in one gulp. At first, he felt fine when he put the glass down on the floor—and then the alcohol seemed to burn his mouth, throat, and every organ down to his stomach in one go, and he pulled a variety of faces, and stuck his tongue out several times. His eyes were drowning from tears, and all his brain could think about was every decision he’d ever made that he later came to regret.

Shinwon couldn’t even say anything, but it was like Jinho was reading his mind. He helped Shinwon dry his eyes with tissues, even though he couldn’t help laughing. From time to time, he dabbed tissues onto Shinwon’s barely sweaty forehead, before he offered to open a can of coke for Shinwon to wash the alcohol down.

“No,” Shinwon managed to utter. “Let it … let it pass first. Thanks … hyung…” He inhaled air through his mouth, which cooled down his tongue for about a second.

“I told you it was a bad idea to mix them,” said Jinho, as he wiped a tear away from the corner of Shinwon’s eyes. “Don’t do that again.”

“You’re lucky it … it was _me_ who … ugh … drunk that. You’d … you’d be flat out … by now if … if it was … bleugh…” Shinwon pointed down at the bed as he screwed up his face again.

“Even if I had lost, I’d have used something called common sense.”

Shinwon snorted. “Alright, Mr Class President, how about you help me take my mind off the worst decision of my life?”

“What do you want me to do?”

“You got any more embarrassing stories to share?”

Jinho pouted. Shinwon smiled at how cute his whole face looked, and he was tempted to tap him on the tip of his nose.

“Does it have to be embarrassing?” said Jinho. “How about something that’s just funny?”

“I don’t mind,” said Shinwon. “You can share anything with me.”

Jinho started to talk, and Shinwon stayed quiet. He still stuck his tongue out, and he sometimes flinched when the burn seemed to return, but otherwise, his full attention was on Jinho. At some point, his vision began to wobble a little, like he was on a ship, and he leaned right back into the bed until he was propping himself up with just his elbows. Jinho noticed, and he too lied down on his side and used his elbow to hold his head up.

“You okay?” said Jinho. Shinwon swore that he’d lowered his voice to a whisper.

“Don’t mind me,” said Shinwon, as he raised his hand just far enough above the mattress to weakly wave it. “I did this to myself. You don’t have to lie down for me.”

“I was getting bored of sitting. At least I get to see your face like this.”

Shinwon felt his cheeks redden. For a moment, he thought he was about to feel another burn, but nothing happened.

“Anyway,” he said, “what were you saying just then? Before we lied down?”

Jinho frowned. “I think it was something about my sister stealing one of my toys, wasn’t it?”

Shinwon nodded, even though he had no recollection. “Yeah, sounds about right.”

Jinho shifted a little bit closer. “I’ve told you a lot about myself,” he said. “What about you? So far, all I know is that you almost soiled yourself during PE once.”

Shinwon squinted. “Me?” He tried to point at himself, except his arms felt numb, and he collapsed onto his back as his elbows gave way. “I’m not that interesting.”

“I’m not that interesting either, but I’ve told you loads of things.” Jinho rolled over onto his front, and crossed his arms in front of him by grabbing the opposite shoulder. He rested his chin on his lower arms. “You’ve got an older sister, right?”

“I do,” said Shinwon, and he took it as a starting point to tell Jinho about his childhood.

As Shinwon talked, a new distraction appeared. He didn’t really notice it at first, but from certain angles, he thought that Jinho had a passing resemblance to Hwitaek. Even the way they smiled, and how their eyes turned into crescents, had an air of similarity. The next thing he knew, he saw Jinho waving his hand close to his face, and he started a little.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” said Jinho. “You were talking, and then you just stopped.”

“I’m fine,” said Shinwon. “I got a bit distracted, that’s all.”

Jinho’s face changed, like he wasn’t sure whether to be amused or concerned. “What were you thinking?”

“I’m probably going mad, but you kind of look like Hwitaek hyung.”

It took Shinwon about a second later to realise he had blurted out his thoughts, and he reacted by clasping both hands over his face. Had he been more sober, he would have watched his wording; and he was about to try and clarify his words when he heard Jinho laugh. He peeped through the cracks of his fingers. Jinho was actually properly laughing, and there was so much sweetness in his eyes that Shinwon figured he was taking it as a compliment.

“You know there’s a thing about some couples that look alike, right?” said Jinho.

Shinwon frowned. “No, not really.”

“There have been a few studies that show people will date other people who look similar to them. Anyway, you must’ve seen those old couples who, as they grew older together, started looking more and more alike.”

“That sounds like a fever dream you’ve had.”

Jinho giggled, and he lightly smacked Shinwon’s shoulder before resting his hand there. “It’s true, you can look it up.”

“Is it really?”

“You’re the first person to say that to me, about me and Hwitaek-ie looking alike.”

“To be honest, I didn’t really notice it until now.”

“Would it sound crazy of me if I said that _you_ kind of look like Hwitaek-ie?”

Shinwon’s eyes widened. “Me? I don’t think we look that similar.”

Jinho just smiled at him, and then he started to doodle circles on his shoulder.

“Like they say,” said Jinho, in a tone that didn’t sound normal, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

Shinwon sat up, to make Jinho’s hand slide off his shoulder. He kept his back to Jinho as his eyes widened, and he seemed to sober up a little. He didn’t know what to think. Then he felt Jinho sit up as well, and he shuffled further forward until his arse had half-slid off the mattress, and all his weight fell on his legs.

“We should get back to your work,” said Shinwon. “I don’t want you getting upset again that you didn’t finish off the chapter you wanted.”

Jinho shook his head. “You’re pissed, I’m pissed, there’s no way we’re getting anything else done tonight.”

“You’re not pissed.”

“You are, so how do you know I’m not?”

Shinwon shook his head. “This is hurting my brain too much.” He staggered to his feet. “I need to sleep it off.”

Shinwon stumbled out of Jinho’s room, and he pushed his own bedroom door open. He fell over onto his own bed, and then he buried his face in his pillow.

He must have slept at some point, because the next thing he knew, someone was knocking on his door; and Shinwon could still tell that it was daytime, even though there was barely any sunlight. He grumbled as he sat up, and he winced as his head felt like it was about to snap his neck in half and roll off his body. With a groan, Shinwon pressed the base of his palm to his forehead, and he shuffled over to the door and opened it.

“Morning,” said Jinho, on the other side. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he was holding his phone in one hand.

“Morning,” said Shinwon, but it came out as a whisper. “Ugh, that mix was the worst.”

“I know, you looked terrible last night. I thought you might like a hangover cure.”

“I could do with one.” Shinwon winced again. “What have you got?”

“You know that Chicken ’n Cheese Muffin you’ve wanted to try for a while, from McDonalds?” Jinho grinned. “I ordered it for you.”

Shinwon laughed, but then stopped when he realised just how dry and sore his throat was.

“You know me best, hyung,” he managed to say. “Where is it?”

“It should be coming soon.” Jinho looked down at his phone, and then he started. “Hang on, I think it’s here. Come down when you’re ready, yeah?”

Shinwon nodded, and he stayed on the spot as Jinho walked over to the stairs, and he was two steps down when the doorbell rang. Shinwon shut his door again to change into a fresh set of clothes. As he dressed, he remembered why he had left Jinho’s room in a hurry last night. Now that he was a bit more sober, he started to wonder if he had been overthinking things. Jinho hadn’t said anything explicit, and he hadn’t done anything either except for draw on his shoulder.

By the time Shinwon left his room, he was halfway down the stairs when he could smell fried chicken and a hash brown. Grinning, he hurried into the kitchen, where he saw two McDonalds delivery bags on the table, alongside two drinks. Jinho was throwing the cup holder into the bin when Shinwon walked in.

“You’re the best hyung ever,” said Shinwon, as he sat down. He lifted up one of the drinks, and poked a straw through the top. Some coke spilled out, gathering around the straw.

“I guess the cure’s working then,” said Jinho. He sat down on the other side of the table.

“I’ve never felt better.” Shinwon lowered the bag nearest to him, and peered inside. “What did you order?”

“The Egg and Bacon McMuffin’s mine.” Jinho was also looking into the other bag, and then he pulled out a muffin wrapped in white paper. “You’ve got the right one.”

Shinwon took out the hash brown first, and they made small talk as they got through their breakfasts. There was nothing to suggest that Jinho was behaving oddly. He listened to everything Shinwon had to say, and all his responses were rational. For what felt like a long time, they had the kitchen to themselves; and Shinwon had just finished his muffin when Hwitaek walked in.

“You ordered McDonalds?” said Hwitaek.

“I thought Shinwon-ie would be craving it this morning,” said Jinho. “We’re having it as our hangover cure.”

Hwitaek’s eyes widened as he turned to Shinwon. They looked at each other, but then Hwitaek lowered his glare, and he seemed to be staring at Shinwon’s nose as he said, “What have you done now?”

“I mixed two drinks I shouldn’t have,” said Shinwon. He reached for his coke, which was still half full.

“What did you do that for?”

“I thought it was a good idea at the time. I got cocky and thought, I can take my drink, it can’t be that bad mixing two together.” Shinwon put the straw between his teeth, but then he raised his head again. “Anyway, Jinho hyung should be thankful that I made the stupid mistake, not him.”

Hwitaek giggled. Jinho glanced at them both as he pouted.

“I’m not that much of a lightweight,” said Jinho.

Hwitaek raised his eyebrows. “Jinho-ya, there was a reason why we couldn’t let Hyojong make you any more drinks.”

“I seem to remember we had to ban _you_ from his drinks as well.”

“Why? What happened?” said Shinwon.

Hwitaek sighed. “Long story short, we had a few drinks before we left for Christmas break last year, and Hyuna nuna said that we both passed out on the floor after one drink.”

“Didn’t Hyuna nuna say you looked like a starfish?” said Jinho, smiling. “She said it was the cutest thing she’d ever seen.”

“She called you a starfish as well.”

“Aww, that sounds so cute,” said Shinwon. “I look like a blobfish when I’m drunk.”

Hwitaek and Jinho laughed at the same time. Shinwon bit down on his straw; for some reason, there was something unsettling about their synchronicity.

“No, you don’t,” said Hwitaek.

“You’re cuter than that,” said Jinho, at the same time. He looked thoughtful. “You were like a starfish too, last night.”

“You were together last night?” said Hwitaek.

“I helped Jinho hyung out with his work,” said Shinwon. He studied Hwitaek’s face, but not once did he look anything other than surprised.

“You were really helpful, by the way,” said Jinho. Then, in a quieter voice, he added, “I could use your help again next Friday.”

“OK,” said Shinwon, “I’ll be there.” His glare drifted to Hwitaek. The latter had decided that this was the best time to do whatever it was he came into the kitchen for, which was apparently to make himself some tea. Even though his back was facing them, Shinwon noticed how he nodded, like he was agreeing with him as well.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friday night and Saturday morning.

The week never seemed to pass so slowly and so quickly at the same time. It didn’t help that exams were coming up, and so were deadlines for assignments; when Shinwon tried to meet Hongseok for a drink, he had to decline. The only sociable thing he had left was Jinho’s study session, and it was for this reason that Shinwon hurried home after this class finished on Friday.

Shinwon was about to unlock the front door when he heard someone undo the locks on the other side. He stepped back just as the door opened, and he came face-to-face with Hwitaek.

“Oh, hey,” said Hwitaek, and he slowly smiled as they made eye contact. His rucksack was slung over one shoulder.

“I didn’t know you were going out,” said Shinwon.

Hwitaek looked down. “I need to see Hyojong,” he said. “I was going to text you later, but I’ll need to sleep over at his place again.”

“Again?”

“Yeah, we’ve got a project that needs a lot of work.” Hwitaek scratched his neck.

Shinwon nodded. “I won’t keep you—”

“When did you start with Jinho?”

Shinwon’s eyes widened, as it took him a second later to realise what Hwitaek meant. “Do you mean, our study sessions?”

“Yeah,” said Hwitaek. He was looking down at his own shoes now.

“The first one was the Friday after Halloween.”

Hwitaek’s face turned red straightaway as he looked up. Even though he looked like he had lots to say, his only reaction was, “Oh. Right. That was … fast.”

“He looked like he needed a lot of help,” said Shinwon. “I thought I should, you know, offer my services, if you will.”

Hwitaek frowned, even though there was a small smile on his face as well. “Why are you making it sound like you—?”

“I don’t know why I said it like that either,” said Shinwon, also smiling. It was like he had never realised just how adorable Hwitaek was when he smiled.

“I should get going,” said Hwitaek, after a while.

“Yeah, you should.” Shinwon sidestepped to let Hwitaek leave the house. “When are you coming back tomorrow?”

Hwitaek shrugged. “Probably before six, seven in the evening? I’m only sleeping over tonight.”

Maybe it was because Hwitaek had gone to stay elsewhere overnight, but the house felt quieter that evening. Shinwon went downstairs to cook dinner, at the same time as Changgu. Jinho never appeared, even when they ate or cleaned up.

“I don’t know how you do this, hyung,” Shinwon said to Jinho, when he entered his room an hour later. “How can you sit in here for hours and revise?”

Jinho shrugged. “I guess I’m used to it?” he said. He was sat in front of his desk. “You must have done some revision for your first year? You had exams as well, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t stay in my room for five hours straight. I’d revise, get bored after two hours, head out for a nice chat and a drink with my dormmates, and then revise again.”

Jinho looked away. “You’ve always had more friends than me.”

Shinwon sighed, and stood up off the bed. He walked over to Jinho, and placed his hands on his shoulders. The shorter man looked up at him, his eyes wide.

“Stop talking about yourself like that,” said Shinwon. “You have got friends. You’ve got me, and Hwitaek hyung, and Changgu, and Hyojong hyung and Hyuna nuna as well. You’re just very focused on getting good grades.”

Jinho blushed as he turned his seat around, forcing Shinwon to let go of his shoulders. Jinho pulled himself closer to his laptop, and he shook the mousepad to wake it up.

“You should help me out then,” he said. He picked up a textbook, and handed it over. “Can you look up chapter nine first? I need to make sure I’ve got my reference correct.”

Shinwon took the book. As he flicked to the page, he said, “Have you ever thought about setting up a study group? I’m sure if we asked Hwitaek hyung and Changgu, they wouldn’t mind.”

Jinho immediately shook his head. “I prefer studying on my own,” he said, “but I can make an exception for you.”

“I’m not the best study partner. My brain burns out after two hours.”

“Didn’t you just tell me to stop looking down on myself?”

“Hey, that’s different. You do it all the time. I do it to make a point.”

Jinho raised his eyebrows. “Your point is…?”

Shinwon resisted the temptation to say that he was stupider, because he knew that Jinho would get all defensive again. Instead, he condensed it down to, “We’re different types of people. You study hard, I watch TV shows hard.”

“True,” said Jinho, as he laughed. “That’s why I like you so much.”

Shinwon found the page, and he looked up. He started when he made eye contact. The fire that he had seen every now and then was there in Jinho’s eyes, blazing so much that Shinwon could feel sweat running down the back of his neck.

“That’s … good to know,” said Shinwon.

He became aware of how close he was standing to Jinho, and he shuffled away to sit down on the bed again. He held the textbook up until it covered his nose and mouth.

“We can talk later,” he said. “Let’s get your assignment out of the way first. I really shouldn’t get in the way of your First.”

“How do you know it’s going to be a First?”

“If you don’t get one, there’s something really wrong with our uni.”

Jinho blushed, and then turned around to face his laptop again. Shinwon could see him shake the mouse, before he grabbed another book from the table, flicked through the pages, and then snapped it shut again.

“You’re right,” said Jinho. “Let’s get this done, yeah. Er, what did I want that book for again?”

Shinwon looked down. “It’s open on chapter nine. You said something about a reference?”

After that, Jinho began to ask for Shinwon’s help. He was focused at first, asking Shinwon to look up pages for him, and even swapped out books a few times. More than once, however, Jinho started to ask Shinwon to check one book for him, only to end up asking him for the wrong one; his references started to slide all over the place, often with Shinwon correcting him; and Shinwon once recited parts of a paragraph for him, only for Jinho to realise a second later that he had already typed it out on the previous page.

“Are you alright, hyung?” Shinwon said, after Jinho made another mix-up with the textbooks. “Do you need a break?”

Jinho swung in his seat, and then turned around fully. The steeliness in his eyes had only hardened. Shinwon put the textbook aside, sensing that they were finished with the studying part.

“I really need one,” said Jinho. His glare lingered on Shinwon’s face, until he stood up a few seconds later, and he walked over to where the drinks were.

Shinwon shuffled forward a little. “Let me do it,” he said, “I know what you like.”

“I want something different,” said Jinho.

Shinwon watched as Jinho pulled out one of the bottles. There was so much confidence in his actions that Shinwon wondered if this was the real him, when he wasn’t so hard on himself, when he wasn’t forced to spend all his waking hours studying. He couldn’t look away as he watched Jinho pour a shot into a glass, and then he downed it raw in one gulp.

“Wow,” said Shinwon. “That’s really different.”

Jinho turned around, and Shinwon had never felt smaller in his life. He didn’t flinch when Jinho sat down next to him, or put a hand on his knee.

“I’ve never seen those jeans before,” said Jinho. “Are they new?”

Shinwon nodded, suddenly very aware that Jinho had slipped his fingers underneath a rip in his jeans. His fingertips were digging hard into his thighs. Despite that, Shinwon kept looking at Jinho’s face, unable to break his glare.

“I got them last Thursday,” said Shinwon.

“They look really good.” Jinho leaned in. “Everything looks good on you.”

“You look good as well.”

Shinwon swallowed as he noticed just how close his face was to Jinho’s. He meant to look down at his knee, where he could still feel Jinho’s hand, but he stopped when he spotted his lips.

“No-one’s ever been this interested in me,” said Jinho.

“Where did this come from?” said Shinwon.

“Ever since I first knew you.” Jinho moved in closer until there was barely a gap between their lips, and he pressed his other hand on Shinwon’s cheek. “Ever since you barged into my room and didn’t give a shit about revising with me.”

“That’s … not a good thing.” Shinwon hadn’t even realised how awful his behaviour was, not until Jinho phrased it like that.

Jinho smiled a little. His eyes were half-closed now, and the hand on his knee slid further up his thigh.

“Only you would do that.” Jinho tilted his head forwards, and kissed him.

Shinwon gasped, from how hard Jinho’s lips pressed into his. Jinho lifted his hand off his thigh, and placed it on the other side of Shinwon’s neck to pull him in even closer. He was kissing with all the desperation of somebody who’d wanted to kiss him for ages; and Shinwon could feel his heart fluttering with every second that Jinho’s lips kept touching his own.

Shinwon hooked an arm around Jinho’s shoulders, just as the shorter man shifted to sit in his lap. Jinho pulled back a second later; his eyes were dark and heavy, but the fire was still there and blazing. Shinwon kept up eye contact as he combed his other hand through Jinho’s hair, before he looked down. He took his time, studying the sharpness of Jinho’s nose and how it contrasted his cute, round cheeks, before his glare settled on his lips once more. They were a little swollen now and redder than before, and still wet with saliva—and Shinwon shut his eyes as he leaned in, and kissed Jinho again.

This time, Jinho’s tongue went straight into his mouth, accompanied with a deep moan. Shinwon pulled him in even closer until their bodies were pressed up to each other. Jinho shifted again; this time, it was like he wanted to straddle him, except he ended up leaning so heavily onto Shinwon that it didn’t take long for him to fall over onto his back. They parted just before Shinwon landed.

“Do you know what I think?” said Jinho. He placed one leg in-between Shinwon’s, and leaned in to whisper into his ear, “Everything you’re wearing right now would look so much better on the floor.”

Shinwon didn’t get a chance to say anything back. Jinho started to kiss him along his jaw and neck, as he grinded his hips. There was no escaping his erection pressing hard onto his thigh. Shinwon moaned; he needed Jinho’s kisses everywhere, on every inch of bare skin that he could reach. He tilted his head away from Jinho to let him touch him everywhere, and he could feel Jinho smiling as he started to lavish kisses all over the joint between his neck and shoulders.

Jinho’s lips brushed the neck of Shinwon’s t-shirt—at which point, he withdrew completely and got up onto his feet again. Shinwon whined. He heard a drawer being opened, and he used his elbows to prop himself up. He was halfway there when he saw Jinho chuck two small things at him, and he caught them without thinking.

“You’re going to need those,” said Jinho. It sounded so much like a command that a shiver went down Shinwon’s spine.

He looked down at the objects he was holding, and his mouth fell open. He was clutching a condom and a rather lightweight bottle of lube that had fingerprints on the lid. Then he felt a pair of hands on his hips, and he almost dropped the items when he saw Jinho kneeling in front of him. He looked so small like that, yet he had never realised just how pretty his eyes were. Shinwon opened his legs wider when Jinho dipped a finger below the waistband of his jeans.

“I need to take these off first,” said Jinho, laughing. He looked up, and batted his eyelids. “If you’ll let me.”

Shinwon nodded. He would let Jinho do anything he wanted to him.

***

Changgu had just turned the page of his textbook when he heard a faint moan.

He looked up, and stared at the door. He could have sworn he’d just heard someone moan, or it was something he’d imagined, and this was a sign that he needed a break from revising. When he didn’t hear anything again for a few seconds, he turned back to his textbook—and heard another longer, deeper moan.

Changgu sighed as he reached into his bag for his earphones. Jinho and Hwitaek were having sex, weren’t they? He was still a little bit scarred from the housewarming party, and he certainly didn’t want to spend an evening listening to the two of them getting it off with each other. If they ever broke the news that they were dating for real, that would be enough for him.

He pulled out his earphones when he froze. Hwitaek wasn’t in the house.

Changgu’s mouth dropped open. No, he thought, no, that wasn’t Jinho and Shinwon in bed with each other. One of them must have pulled. There had to be a stranger in the house. He chucked his textbook and earphones aside, and he tiptoed over to open his door. He peered out into the hallway; the only room that had the lights turned on was Jinho’s.

Changgu slowly closed his door behind him. The source of the noise really sounded like it was coming from Jinho’s room, but he shook his head. No, this was him being delusional; Jinho wasn’t the type of person who’d go around having sex without a second thought. He was probably revising in his room right now, and it was Shinwon who had bought somebody home with him and they were getting it on in the dark. All Changgu had to was go downstairs to check if there was an extra pair of shoes by the front door, and he would have his answer.

Despite trying to reassure himself, Changgu’s legs did tremble with each step he took down the stairs. He was almost at the bottom when he had a clear view of the front door. Even though the shoe rack was filled with shoes, he recognised every single pair. There was no stranger, no fifth person in the house. Changgu leaned on the wall. No way. When the hell did Jinho and Shinwon even start? Not only had Shinwon kissed Hwitaek, he was now getting it off with Jinho—and yet, he was also eager to see Jinho and Hwitaek unite as a couple.

Changgu ran his hands over his face. At some point, Shinwon and Jinho would realise that he was in the house, and that he could hear everything; but were they going to talk to him about it? Or maybe he should talk to them first? Or was it better for all of them if they pretended that he had heard nothing? The last option was looking the most attractive, because how was he even going to talk to them about it? This had nothing to do with him, after all. He just knew more than he should because they were housemates.

For a moment, Changgu wondered if he should sit in the living room until this was all over. Shinwon and Jinho couldn’t possibly stay awake all night—although there was no telling as to how long it would take for them to calm down. What if he ended up falling asleep on the sofa, and he was found there the next morning? How would he explain away why he was sleeping in the living room, with no textbooks and no notes? Changgu walked up the stairs again, and stuck his fingers in his ears as he neared the landing. His technique blocked out some quieter sounds, but he could still hear all kinds of erotic noises, and he swore he could feel faint vibrations of the bed knocking into the wall. He raised his foot to push the handle of his bedroom door down, and he entered his room again just as he heard someone utter a name. He didn’t want to think too hard about that last part.

Changgu’s only took his fingers out when he had to pick up his earphones. He drew up his music, turned the volume onto the loudest setting he could handle, and then he tried to focus on revising once again.

***

Shinwon woke up the next morning, aware of two things: one, all his clothes were on the floor; and two, Jinho was hugging him from behind.

He groaned as he stretched his arms, and looked over his shoulder. Jinho was still asleep, and he looked so cute with his messy hair, and one cheek squished on his pillow. Shinwon smiled, but then it faded just as fast when he realised that this was, most likely, the only time he would ever see Jinho like this.

“Hey,” said Shinwon, as he gently shook Jinho’s shoulder. The shorter man grumbled. “Time to get up.”

He wanted to shuffle out of bed to put his boxers back on, but he had only moved a little when he felt Jinho’s arms pulling his waist, drawing him back in straightaway.

“Don’t go,” said Jinho. He didn’t sound fully awake. “Everyone always leaves me.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Shinwon rolled over so that he was facing Jinho. “I’ll stay.”

Jinho’s half-open eyes were sleepy, but then he raised one of his arms to gently brush the top of Shinwon’s head. He leaned in, and attempted to draw Shinwon into a slow, chaste kiss. Although Shinwon let their lips touch, he didn’t kiss Jinho back; and the latter withdrew a few seconds later.

“About that…” said Shinwon.

Jinho’s face soured. “I know what you’re going to say,” he said.

“Can you really dump him for me?”

“I…” Jinho shuffled onto his back, and chose to look up at the ceiling. “It’s too early for this.”

“Look, I’m really flattered and everything, but … you should stay with Hwitaek hyung. Don’t pick me over him.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“I’m not. I’m trying to help you,” said Shinwon. Jinho scoffed, but said nothing. “Hwitaek hyung really cares about you.”

“I know.”

“Whenever we’ve gone food shopping together, he’s always buying extra stuff for you, or he’s picking up snacks that he knows you want. He even bought some cold and flu tablets last week, because he thought you sounded a bit hoarse, and he didn’t want to wait until he knew if you were sick or not.”

“I know.”

Shinwon got out of bed, and put his boxers on again. Jinho remained lying on his back, but he did turn his head to watch him.

“Did Hwitaek hyung do something to upset you?” said Shinwon, as he searched for his shirt and jeans.

“No. He’s always been really nice to me.”

“Has he ever said he wants to be your boyfriend?” Shinwon sat down on the chair, and started to slip on his jeans.

“No, but … what we’re doing now works for both of us.”

Shinwon looked at Jinho with his eyebrows raised.

“It does,” said Jinho, in a more defensive tone. “You know my family have expectations for me. I’ve got to study hard. Hwitaek works just as hard as I do, even if it doesn’t seem like he does. What’s the point of dating if we’re just going to spend all our spare time in our own rooms studying?”

“Okay, but it seems like you don’t like waking up to an empty bed each morning.”

“That’s not relevant.” Jinho’s voice sounded strong, but his glare had softened. Shinwon figured he had hit upon a sore point.

“You’ve still one and a half years of uni left to go. You’re not seriously going to wait until _then_ to ask Hwitaek hyung out properly, are you?”

“Shinwon—”

“Yeah, you’ll both be finished with uni then, but what if you get a job in Seoul, and he has to work in Busan?”

“I don’t—”

“Even if you both work in the same city, it doesn’t mean you’ll get chances to meet up.”

Jinho rolled over so that he had his back to Shinwon. The latter hated the silence that followed, but he tried to ignore it as he pulled his jeans up all the way, and put on his shirt again. He stood up, and walked over to the door, where his socks had been flung.

“Shinwon,” said Jinho, after a while. Shinwon kept his head down as he picked up his socks. When he stood up again, he saw Jinho sitting up with his duvet wrapped around his waist. He looked confused, and Shinwon couldn’t keep up eye contact with him. He could sense the question that Jinho was trying to convey; what was last night all about then, if Shinwon was going to convince him to pursue a relationship with Hwitaek the next morning?

“Will I see you next Friday?” said Jinho. It was hard to tell whether he sounded hopeful or not.

“I … don’t know,” said Shinwon. “Hongseok said something about revising together, so I think … I might not be here…”

“Oh,” was all Jinho said.

Shinwon grabbed the door handle. He hated leaving on a sour note, and he said, “I’m going downstairs. Do you want me to make you anything?”

“No, I’ll be alright, thanks.”

Shinwon darted out of the room, and into the bathroom. He kicked the door shut, and ran the cold tap to splash water all over his face. Well, he certainly wasn’t the best housemate ever, was he? He had made out with one housemate while a little tipsy, and had slept with another while sober—and after all that, he was still single. What a shitty feat to manage.

There was something about Jinho that had made it impossible to leave last night. Shinwon couldn’t explain what, though, but he knew it went beyond Jinho’s dominating behaviour. It was like kissing him had awakened a lot of feelings inside him, putting into perspective that he had unconsciously fallen for him too. Great, he now potentially had two sets of crushes to ignore.

Shinwon could hear Jinho moving about in his room. He pulled the door open, and was about to step out when he spotted Changgu on the other side. Changgu gaped as his face turned red; and Shinwon frowned at him, wondering if something had happened to him, until he realised that Changgu had been in the house all evening as well—oh, _fuck_ —

“Morning,” was all Shinwon trusted himself to say. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and his face was just as red as Changgu’s.

“Morning,” said Changgu, weakly.

“I’m…” Shinwon vaguely pointed over Changgu’s shoulder. “I was … I’m not using … I’ll get out of your way.”

Changgu nodded, and stepped aside. Shinwon didn’t look at him as he walked out of the bathroom. He staggered down the stairs, and dragged his feet into the kitchen, where he sat down on the nearest chair and propped his head in his hands. He slid onto the table after a short while, where he remained slumped until—

“I thought you were making breakfast?” he heard Jinho ask.

“We forgot about Changgu,” said Shinwon, without raising his head.

“What do you mean?” said Jinho, before he paused. “Shit.”

Shinwon heard the door close, and he sat up straight and turned around. Jinho was leaning on the door, and his whole face was red.

“Did he say anything to you?” the shorter man continued.

Shinwon shook his head. “He definitely knows. He looked so awkwardly at me.”

“Do you think he’ll tell Hwitaek?”

“I … I don’t think he will. He doesn’t seem like the type to do that.” Shinwon was partially confident; he had an inkling that Changgu must’ve worked something out about him and Hwitaek, because why else would he have returned his gloves without saying anything to him? The fact that Jinho was still oblivious to what had happened on Halloween was proof enough that Changgu had kept his silence.

Jinho just nodded.

“Let’s just not say anything to him,” said Shinwon. “If he wants to talk to us about it, we’ll deal with it then.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“Like I said, he didn’t say anything to me. He just looked awkward. I don’t think he was judging me, or making me feel weird.”

“OK.” Jinho put his hands over his face, and sighed.

“Let me guess, you’ve never tried feeling awkward that somebody overheard you having sex?” said Shinwon, with a chuckle.

Even though Jinho’s hands were still on his face, Shinwon could tell that he was blushing. He looked so small standing there that Shinwon wanted to just hug him, and reassure him that this wasn’t the end of the world. If they hadn’t just got it off with each other, he probably would have done it already; but he had to keep his distance, or else his actions would conflict with his whole argument earlier.

There was a knock on the door, and Jinho jumped. Shinwon dragged his chair back to stand up.

“Is everything okay?” he heard Changgu say.

Shinwon walked up to the door, and he gently nudged Jinho away. He opened the door, but then started to close it again before pulling it open once again.

“Yeah, we were just testing the hinges,” he said. “I thought I heard it creak.” Well, how else was he supposed to explain why the door was shut?

Changgu’s face remained expressionless as he nodded.

“That’s great,” said Shinwon, as he opened the door fully this time. “Looks like we don’t have to talk to our landlord. I’m going to put the kettle on, do you want some water as well?”

Everything that was spoken after that either related to breakfast, the kitchen, or just general small talk. Shinwon did his best to make things less awkward when they ate together at the table, and there were a few moments where it did succeed. Still, there was an uneasy air around the house that day, something which Hwitaek picked up on quite quickly when he returned in the evening.

One thing was for certain, though. Shinwon would have to draw Jinho and Hwitaek together soon. He would have to form another plan.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinwon makes a second plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the last chapter was a week late, I'm now posting this chapter a week early to make up for it :)

Shinwon knew that Hongseok had a deadline coming up the Tuesday after next, and that his friend would want to be left alone to finish off and perfect his assignment. An emergency was an emergency, however, and Shinwon bore all this in mind when he left Hongseok a voice message over KakaoTalk at one in the morning—but when he played it back, he realised that he sounded like he was on the verge of a breakdown. It was probably for this reason that Hongseok agreed to meet him on Monday, after class as usual.

“Honk, Changgu and I can’t stay in the house on Friday,” said Shinwon, the moment they settled down at the student bar. Today, they had picked some seats by the snooker tables, where it was the most private. “We need to come over to yours. How about we have a little revision session together? We can even help you with your assignment.”

Hongseok frowned. “We don’t even study the same subject,” he said.

“That doesn’t matter. We can still revise. We just need to be out of the house.”

Hongseok looked at him for a moment, like he was expecting something else to happen.

“Have you guys argued?” said Hongseok.

“No, but…” Shinwon paused. “I know that something’s going to happen on Friday, and it’s better if Jinho and Hwitaek have the house to themselves.”

Hongseok leaned in, but didn’t say anything. Shinwon could tell what he was thinking; he obviously wanted to know why he was so confident about Friday in particular. It was easy enough to tell him about the study sessions with Jinho, but how was he supposed to explain what had happened last Friday? Hongseok wouldn’t exactly bat an eyelid that they’d slept with each other, but the difficult part was explaining _why_ it was a bad thing; if Shinwon remembered correctly, Hongseok still didn’t know the real relationship between Jinho and Hwitaek.

“Besides,” Shinwon continued, “it looks like Jinho and Hwitaek are going to need a lot of time on their own, and I’m pretty sure you said you’ve got one of those sofas that transforms into a bed.”

“Woah, hold on.” Hongseok straightened up. “You never said this was going to be a sleepover.”

“It’s just occurred to me as well.” Shinwon pulled his drink closer to him. “Think about it. It’s going to be even more fun than all those sleepovers we ever did in high school.”

Hongseok blushed. “Well … I guess you’re right…”

“How big is the sofa bed again?”

“I think you and Changgu should be able to fit on it.”

Shinwon raised his eyebrows. “Me?” he said, as he shook his head. “Oh, come on, I can’t possibly sleep in the same bed as Changgu. I’m not going to enjoy it.”

Hongseok spluttered. “I’m not—”

“You’ll fit,” said Shinwon, as he winked. “You should know how slim Changgu is. Imagine sleeping on the same bed as him, with your big arms around his slender little waist…”

The longer Shinwon spoke, the redder Hongseok’s face turned.

“I’m not sharing a bed with him,” said Hongseok. “We’re just friends. I don’t want to rush into anything.”

“Hongseok-ie…” Shinwon reached over to grab Hongseok’s wrist, and he shook his hand a little. “Think about it. _There’s only one bed_.”

“No there isn’t. There’s more than one, there’s _two_.”

“They’re not in the same room.”

“You don’t need to get the sofa bed out. There’s a bit of space in my room. You and Changgu can just sleep on the floor.”

Shinwon made a face. “We can’t sleep on the floor. If you want to cuddle up to Changgu in private, I’ll just take the sofa bed for myself. Actually, I quite like that—”

“I’m not sharing a bed with anybody.”

“Honk, stop being so stubborn.”

Hongseok shook his hand free. “How come I can’t share a bed with you, then?”

Shinwon blinked. “What about Changgu?”

“He can sleep on his own.”

“Where is your sense of romance?”

“We’re not … _ready_ to sleep in the same bed yet.”

Shinwon sighed, and picked up his drink. He had the rim pressed to his lips when he said, “We can sort this out later. All you have to do now is to get us out of the house on Friday.”

“Fine, you two can come over.”

Neither of them lingered once they had finished their drinks. When Shinwon returned home, he found Changgu in his room and jotting down some notes; and Shinwon had barely shut the door when he told him all about the plans.

“Hongseok’s super excited, and so am I,” said Shinwon, at the end. “What do you think? It’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but why Friday?” said Changgu.

Shinwon scooted over until he was sitting next to Changgu. “I was studying with Jinho on Fridays,” he said, “but I think something big is going to happen with our hyungs soon, and if we’re still here, we’re only going to be a distraction.”

“You think they’re going to get together?” said Changgu, frowning.

“Yes. It’s not going to be like the movie afternoon we had ages ago. I really do think there’s a good chance this time.”

“Is that why you want us to sleep over at Hongseok’s?”

“Exactly.” Shinwon put a hand on his own chest. “I’ve been to his place. It’s very spacious. His place has only got two beds so someone’s going to have to share one—”

“Can’t we just sleep on the floor?”

“—and to be honest, Hongseok’s bed is a little bit on the small side, but don’t be put off by it. He’s not one of those guys that has to be surrounded by big, long things.”

“I don’t know if we should—” Changgu stopped as he seemed to only just realise what Shinwon had said. His face flushed. “Did you just say that Hongseok’s got a…?”

“Oh, did I?” Shinwon gasped, and clasped his hands over his mouth. “I don’t know. You’ll have to find out for yourself.”

Changgu stood up. “I really need to get back to my notes.”

“Is that a yes, then?” said Shinwon, as he also stood up.

“If you’re sure this will help our hyungs out, then yes.”

Shinwon smiled at him. He was about to open the door when he turned around, and added, “By the way, let me tell Jinho and Hwitaek about our plans. I’m not going to tell them tonight. I want to leave it for a few days first.”

Changgu let him, and so Shinwon kept quiet about Friday for the rest of Monday, and the whole of Tuesday. The idea was to speak to Hwitaek first, to give him a little prep talk for Friday, and then he would break the news to Jinho as late as possible. Wednesday was the ideal day to find Hwitaek; Jinho was at university when Hwitaek and Changgu both returned to the house, and Shinwon came out of his room the moment he heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

“You’re back,” he said, as he looked at Hwitaek. He ignored Changgu, who was busy unlocking his own door. “I’ve got something to tell you, hyung.”

“Sure,” said Hwitaek, and he pushed his bedroom door open. “Come in.”

Shinwon followed Hwitaek into his room. He closed the door behind him, and remained standing in front of it while Hwitaek dumped his bag onto his chair, and unzipped his jacket.

“I’m not going to be here on Friday,” Shinwon started, “and neither is Changgu. We’re going to sleep over at Hongseok’s.”

Hwitaek frowned as he hung his jacket on the back of the chair. “Oh, right,” he said. “Don’t you and Jinho have a thing on Fridays?”

“Well…” Shinwon clasped his hands together, and breathed in. “Since I won’t be here this Friday, I want you to take my place.”

Hwitaek’s eyes widened as his mouth turned into a perfect ‘o’ shape. His eyes were darting about, like he was processing the implications of Shinwon’s request. For a second, it felt like the plan was about to fall apart. Hwitaek’s delayed response wasn’t filling him with much hope—

“You want me to go and help Jinho?” said Hwitaek.

“Yeah. There wasn’t much studying, to be honest. We usually forgot about work after an hour, and we just had a drink and chatted for ages.” Shinwon waited for a response. Instead, Hwitaek just kept up eye contact with him. It had been a while since they’d been able to look at each other like this, Shinwon realised. “What’s wrong? You seem really surprised.”

“Sorry, it’s just a bit … sudden, that’s all.”

Shinwon cocked his head. “I thought you still liked Jinho hyung?”

“I do.” Hwitaek crossed his arms. “Of course I still like him. Why wouldn’t I?”

“You’ve got a rare chance to have the whole house to yourselves. There’s going to be no-one here to interrupt you, or overhear you, or bother you two in any way.”

Hwitaek bit his lip, but said nothing. For some reason, Shinwon felt like he was really concentrating on him, like he was searching for something from him.

“I talked to Jinho hyung about you, just last Friday.” Shinwon couldn’t avoid the subject anymore. He hadn’t planned on spelling it out to Hwitaek like this, but he seemed really clueless.

“Did you?” said Hwitaek. He sounded more alarmed than happy.

“He’s so silly, sometimes. Did you know that he was okay with waiting for uni to finish before asking you out?”

Hwitaek sighed. “If that’s what he wants—”

Shinwon interrupted him with a sigh. “Hyung, please. Are you really going to be happy, waiting _that long_ for him?”

Hwitaek looked away. “I can do it if it works for him.”

Shinwon walked up to Hwitaek, and placed his hands on his shoulders. The older man turned back to him, looking up at him with rounded eyes and an agape mouth. The last time they had touched like this had been Halloween, a thought which Shinwon did his best to ignore as he spoke.

“Hyung, you can’t listen to every single thing that Jinho wants,” he said. “He can’t have it his way all the time. Sometimes, you need to barge into his room and say ‘fuck it’ to his face.”

Hwitaek shook his head.

Shinwon gripped his shoulders. “I know you care for him, but you’re doing it too well. Just try saying no to him, once in a while.”

“What good is that going to do?”

“Trust me, hyung. You’ll know when to do it.”

Hwitaek didn’t look so sure. “What about you?” he said.

Shinwon raised his eyebrows. “Me? I already said I’m going to Hongseok’s.”

“I mean, are you going to be alright?”

Shinwon chuckled. “Hongseok’s not living with criminals. We’re just going to be on the other side of town.”

“No, no, I don’t mean…” Hwitaek trailed off, like he was trying to work out just how to express himself. Shinwon shushed him; he knew that Hwitaek was actually asking if he could cope with seeing Jinho and Hwitaek in a relationship with each other. It was better for them both if Hwitaek never said anything out loud.

The older man seemed to take the hint. He started by putting his hands on Shinwon’s shoulders, and then he started to run them up along the sides of his neck, before he ended up cupping Shinwon’s jaw. His fingers brushed Shinwon’s cheeks, like he was getting ready to kiss him—and Shinwon reacted by letting go of Hwitaek, and nudged him away. Hwitaek’s eyes widened even more as he stumbled back.

“That’s how you say no,” said Shinwon, as he looked down at Hwitaek’s shirt rather than his face. He could feel Hwitaek’s eyes on him, and he had to force himself to ignore him as he turned around. He had started this the moment he talked to Hongseok, and he was going to see it through to completion.

Shinwon thought that Hwitaek was going to object over the next two days, but that conversation never happened. Whenever they talked, it was usually about something trivial; if Hwitaek tried to delve into anything deeper, Shinwon always stopped him. He just had to see Friday through, and hopefully, he could behave like he used to, before Halloween had ever happened. God, he missed joking around with Hwitaek. He missed the days when he could freely talk to him, without having to fret whether his next words could be misinterpreted or not.

The last person to find out about the plan was Jinho. Shinwon didn’t inform him until Thursday evening, when he happened to be downstairs in the kitchen along with Changgu.

“We’re staying over at Hongseok’s tomorrow,” said Shinwon. He remained standing under the doorway as he spoke. “Changgu and I are revising with him, and we’re going to have a little sleepover while we’re there.”

“OK,” said Jinho. He didn't look up from the vegetables that he was washing in the sink.

“Are you going straight to Hongseok’s after your class?” Shinwon continued, now looking at Changgu instead. The latter was frowning at him, out of disbelief that it had taken this long for Jinho to find out.

“I am,” said Changgu. The frown didn’t go away. “He said you’re joining us after your class, right?”

“Yeah, I’m going to his place in the afternoon.”

Shinwon looked up at Jinho again. The latter was looking over his shoulder at him. He opened his mouth, but then his eyes darted to Changgu, before returning to Shinwon.

“I’ll see you Saturday, then,” was all Jinho said, before he turned back to the sink.

There was not much else for Shinwon to do now, other than turn up to Hongseok’s on Friday and hope for the best. Things were awkward enough as it was.

***

Friday felt weird to Hwitaek.

It had been a while since it was just him and Jinho in the house. The last time was a few months ago, when they had returned from their summer holidays one day ahead of their new housemates moving in. The memory made him smile; who could have guessed that so many feelings could change in such a short space of time? The start of the year felt so pure and simple compared to now. He certainly didn’t imagine himself pinning after two people.

Hwitaek had really wanted to kiss Shinwon on Wednesday—but he knew that there was no way he could ever leave Jinho. If he actually dated Jinho, though, he would have to stay as just friends with Shinwon; but he was hungry, greedy for them to become something more. At times, the idea of being single with two flings was much more appealing; maintaining his singlehood meant that he wouldn’t be hurting anyone, and he could choose between two cute guys at any given moment. The only problem holding him back was that he knew how it felt, from Jinho, to be clinging onto something that was temporary; staying single was only delaying the decision he would have to eventually make.

As the day drew on, Hwitaek began to question if he should listen to Shinwon, and take his place in the evening. It wasn’t like he was doing anything weird with Jinho, but whatever they got up to on Friday nights was between them, after all. It didn’t feel right to replace him when Jinho hadn’t even said anything about it.

Hwitaek turned the lights off as he stepped out of his room, plunging the whole of upstairs into darkness. When he walked over to the stairs, only the bottom half was lit, and he held the handrail as he descended. He thought that Jinho would be cooking or eating his dinner right now, except there was no sound coming from the kitchen; and Hwitaek frowned as he drew nearer to the bottom of the stairs. Jinho surely wasn’t just sitting there, was he?

“Jinho-ya, what—?” said Hwitaek, the moment he came up to the door.

Jinho was slumped at the table. He was resting his head on one arm, and in the other hand was a glass with dregs of red wine at the bottom. What alarmed Hwitaek the most was the bottle of wine; it was more than half drunk now, but just a few hours ago, it had been unopened.

“Are you drinking?” said Hwitaek, as he scurried over to the table.

Jinho looked up at him through half-closed eyes. His whole face was a shade between deep pink and red. “Oh, it’s you,” was all he said, before he reached for the bottle.

Hwitaek got there faster, and he swiped the bottle by the neck. He dragged it out of Jinho’s reach by pressing it close to his chest. Jinho made a face at him, before he swirled the dregs around and downed as much of it as it could. He held his hand out when he was finished.

“Give me that,” he said.

Hwitaek lifted up the bottle. “What’re you doing?” he said.

“Am I not allowed to have a drink?”

“You’re getting drunk.”

“So?” said Jinho. He clenched and unclenched his free hand. “Give it to me.”

“What about your studies?”

“Fuck it,” said Jinho. Hwitaek had never heard him sound so angry before. “What’s the point?”

Hwitaek gaped. Was Jinho actually revolting? He was actively trying to get as drunk as he could, and he didn’t care about studying. He would never behave like this, no matter how much he hated the work.

“Jinho-ya, what’s wrong?” said Hwitaek.

“Stay out of this.” Jinho’s eyes narrowed as he pointed at the bottle. “Give me that.”

Hwitaek shook his head as he lifted the bottle even further away. Jinho scowled as he slapped the edge of the table, and he pushed himself up onto his feet. He almost tripped over his feet as he stumbled towards Hwitaek. One arm was outstretched, ready to grab the wine; the other was gripping the edge of the table as he staggered his way around.

Hwitaek ran over to the side, and put the bottle down on the counter. The main thing now was to keep Jinho away from any more alcohol, so he dashed over to him, and hooked his arms under his armpits in order to drag him out of the room.

“Let me go—” said Jinho. Hwitaek could feel him flailing his arms about, and he did slap his back a few times as well. “Put me down—get off me—”

Hwitaek gritted his teeth and ignored Jinho’s protests. He largely dragged him out of the kitchen, although he used his body to push him a few times too. Hwitaek gently threw Jinho against the side of the stairs, and he pressed up against him to keep him pinned upright. Ideally, he wanted to drag Jinho into his bedroom, where he was far away from the kitchen, and he could force him to sleep off his drunkenness. The only thing putting him off was the stairs; Jinho was wriggling around so much that he was probably going to end up breaking an arm or a leg. The only other option, then, was to take Jinho into the living room. It was too close to the kitchen for his liking, but he reckoned that he was strong enough to keep Jinho sitting down on one of the sofas until he sobered up a little.

“Are you listening to me?” said Jinho. Hwitaek yelped as the side of a foot collided with his ankle. “Let—me— _go_ —”

“No,” said Hwitaek, as he peeled Jinho off the wall. “You’re not thinking straight.”

“I am. What are you doing?”

Hwitaek started to drag Jinho over to the living room.

“You’re pissed,” he said. “You need to sit down.”

“I want another drink.”

“You can’t have it.” Hwitaek’s knees almost buckled as he tried to push Jinho closer to the living room, and he instantly stayed still to regain his balance.

“Why not?” he heard Jinho squeal.

“You’ve had enough.”

“I haven’t.”

“Yes, you have.”

“Leave me alone.”

“You’re not staying in the kitchen. It’s freezing in there. What if you catch a cold?”

“I won’t.”

“Stop arguing with me.” Hwitaek spun around so that his back was facing the living room now. He started to walk backwards, which made it easier to drag Jinho with him.

“You started it,” said Jinho. His voice sounded strained.

“I’m not leaving you.”

Hwitaek took another step, but then he felt Jinho really lean on his body. The sudden extra weight unbalanced him, and he ended up pulling Jinho down with him as he fell over. Hwitaek had to let go of Jinho to stick his arms out behind him, and he managed to break his fall, although he still winced as he landed hard on his arse. A second later, he yelled when the top of Jinho’s head bashed his chest. Jinho rolled off him, and laughed as he laid down next to him on his back.

“What is this, a rebellion?” said Jinho. His glare had hardened, and the steeliness that Hwitaek was familiar with had returned.

“Yes,” said Hwitaek.

Jinho laughed again. “Don’t make me laugh. You don’t know how to rebel. You can’t say ‘no’ to me.”

Hwitaek clenched his jaw. It was one thing, having Shinwon gently break this flaw to him; but to hear it so bluntly from a tipsy Jinho felt different. He put his hands on his shoulders, and tried to lift him up.

“Get up,” said Hwitaek, in a much harsher tone than before. “Don’t lie on the floor.”

Jinho huffed. “I like it here.”

“I don’t care, it’s not good for you.”

Jinho stilled. “You don’t care?”

Hwitaek opened his mouth. He was more than prepared to argue back that Jinho had misunderstood him, that he did care, that he didn’t know what the hell had happened but he wanted to find out—except, he could hear Shinwon’s voice talking over all the thoughts in his mind, giving him the advice that he’d given on Wednesday. This was it, he realised, this was the moment to properly say no to Jinho. Hwitaek took in a deep breath as he let go.

“I don’t care,” he said. “You can lie on the floor all you want.” He stood up. “I don’t care how pissed you get tonight. I don’t care how many bottles of wine you get through.”

Jinho just stared at him. Hwitaek turned on his heel, and started to walk into the living room. He exhaled a breath that he didn’t realise he’d been holding onto. This was going to end in two ways; either this was the start of a fall-out that was going to last for a long time, or—

“Say that again to me.”

Hwitaek looked over his shoulder. Jinho was leaning on the wall in order to stand up.

“I don’t care anymore,” said Hwitaek, without stopping. He looked ahead again as he walked through the doorway, but he had barely set foot inside the room when he felt Jinho grab his hand from behind.

Hwitaek flung himself free as he turned around. Jinho’s face was red, but it wasn’t just from the wine anymore. His stare was sharp and full of determination, but there was a glimmer of intrigue as well. Jinho grabbed the front of Hwitaek’s shirt with both hands, bringing their faces close together.

“You’re lying,” said Jinho, and he closed the gap to kiss him, hard.

Hwitaek gasped from the force of the kiss. Their mouths slotted together naturally, like it always did, but there was friction this time that had never been present before. It was even more heated than the first time they’d made out properly, when Jinho had gone into his room and pushed him onto his bed. Jinho pulled him in even closer as his tongue entered Hwitaek’s mouth, and he moaned. Like always, Hwitaek placed one arm around Jinho’s lower back, and he rested his other hand on the back of his head, to properly kiss him in return.

They stayed touching for as long as they could; and when they drew back, their eyes met. Jinho smiled as he seemed to lean on him again, and Hwitaek stumbled backwards until he bumped into the armrest of the sofa, and he fell over backwards. He remained holding onto Jinho, who landed on top of him again. This time, their lips softly touched, and they went back to kissing each other.

Things were returning back to normal now. Jinho was leading the way like he always did, making things easy for them both. He had initiated their first kiss under the mistletoe; he had made the first move in Hwitaek’s bedroom, a few hours later. Every single time they’d slept together had always been on Jinho’s terms. Everything they’d done together had been dependant on what Jinho wanted. Hwitaek had done the one thing that was required of him; always saying ‘yes’ to him, always listening and paying attention to him.

When Hwitaek broke the kiss first, he could see the curiosity in Jinho’s eyes. He had never really looked at him like that before; and Hwitaek grinned as he nudged Jinho aside so that he could wriggle out from underneath. He climbed on top of him, and secured his position by straddling his thighs, and placing his hands on either side of his head.

For a second, Hwitaek swore that Jinho’s breathing hitched. Jinho smiled at him as he pressed a hand on Hwitaek’s cheek. He brushed his fingers over Hwitaek’s lower lip, and then trailed his hand all the way down his jaw, over his throat, and let his hand stop on his chest. His fingertips were just about touching the bottom of his Adam’s apple.

“This is something I don’t see very often,” said Jinho, “I thought you’d forgotten how to sit on top of me.”

Hwitaek laughed. “Screw you, Jo Jinho,” he said, playfully.

Jinho’s grin only looked sweeter as he hooked his arms around Hwitaek’s neck and shoulders, and pulled him in until their foreheads touched. “Is that what you’re going to do to me, Lee Hwitaek?”

Hwitaek responded by kissing him again.

***

By the time Hwitaek got around to cooking dinner, he’d been downstairs for a whole hour. He certainly hadn’t expected to wander around the kitchen with tousled hair, and wearing just his shirt and boxers. If Shinwon or Changgu had been in the house as well, he would never have left his jeans behind in the living room; but Jinho was used to seeing him in just his underwear anyway—and there was a small part of Hwitaek hoping that he wouldn’t need his jeans again for the rest of the evening.

“Eat up,” he said, as he put Jinho’s portion in front of him. “It’ll help with your hangover.”

“Thanks,” said Jinho, with a small smile. He was a bit more sober now; he should be, really, after everything Hwitaek had just done with him. “I’m sorry, about before.”

“You don’t need to apologise,” said Hwitaek, as he sat down next to Jinho. Their chairs were touching, and so were the side of their hips and thighs. Jinho hadn’t bothered putting on his jeans either. “You were drunk.”

“I shouldn’t have been so nasty to you,” said Jinho. He was holding onto his chopsticks with his right hand. “I feel bad I argued with you.”

Hwitaek laced his right hand with Jinho’s free hand.

“There’s no hard feelings,” said Hwitaek, smiling. “I actually want to thank you.”

“Why? I didn’t listen to you. I tried to keep drinking. I made you say you didn’t care about me anymore.”

“That’s true, but you made me realise things about me, about us, that I hadn’t noticed before.” Hwitaek lifted up Jinho’s hand, and he kissed the back. He smiled as he saw Jinho immediately flush, and wriggle a little in his seat. “Really, Jinho-ya? Out of all the things I’ve done with you, _that_ embarrasses you the most?”

Jinho looked down as he gently slipped his hand out of Hwitaek’s. His blush was still persisting.

“You should eat as well.”

Hwitaek picked up his chopsticks, but he kept looking at Jinho. “I heard from Shinwon that you’re willing to wait until the end of uni to ask me out.”

Jinho sighed. He began to play with his food. “He didn’t get what I meant.”

“What did you mean then?”

Jinho picked at a vegetable. “I want us to mean something. I don’t want to look back on us now and think that we had a bad relationship, because we were both too busy working hard for our degrees.”

“Don’t say that,” said Hwitaek. Now, it was his turn to make things easy for Jinho. “We can still date and study hard. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Jinho rested his head on Hwitaek’s shoulder. His reached over with his left arm to grab Hwitaek’s left hand, and he began to draw circles on the back with his thumb.

“What’s the point in dating if we’re just going to stay in our rooms all day?”

“No, we won’t. You work hard enough, Jinho-ya. Taking a break once or twice a week isn’t going to affect your grades.”

Jinho sighed, and Hwitaek squeezed his hand.

“You’re making this more complicated than it needs to be,” he continued. “You really need to get out of your room more.”

Jinho pouted. “Don’t be so mean,” he said, “you know I’m not … I’m not good at this.”

“You should stop overthinking things, for a start.”

“Yeah, but what comes after that? I don’t know what to do.”

“Let’s date. Forget about friends with benefits. Be my boyfriend, for real.”

Jinho sat upright. His eyes widened, and his grip on Hwitaek’s hand just tightened.

“Hwitaek-ie…”

“Be my boyfriend.”

Jinho’s face pinkened as he broke eye contact. His cheeks puffed out a little, like he was reminding Hwitaek just what he had found so attractive in the first place. The angry, dominating Hwitaek from earlier was completely gone, completely taken in with how effortlessly cute Jinho was. If this was what it was like to fall in love all over again, he didn’t mind it.

Jinho smiled as he looked up again. “We should eat, the food’s getting cold,” he said.

“Jinho-ya…” Hwitaek spoke in a higher pitch, and he gently swung their hands for extra effect. “Answer me.”

The shorter man giggled. “Well, let’s put it this way,” he said, “I want to go to your room after this.” His smile made him look adorable, as always, but the way he was blinking felt very dirty.

Never before had Hwitaek ate his dinner so quickly, or ran up the stairs with Jinho in tow in such a hurry.

***

At two o’clock in the morning, Shinwon found himself sharing the sofa bed with Hongseok, while Changgu had Hongseok’s entire bed to himself.

During the week, Hongseok had managed to gather two extra duvets and two more pillows so that nobody had to share anything. Shinwon couldn’t be more furious. He’d done everything to help his friend out—he’d bought along a bottle of wine, and when they’d discussed sleeping arrangements, he’d insisted that he punched and kicked in his sleep, and he’d even said that he liked sleeping on Hongseok’s mattress more than the sofa bed—and yet his friend was persisting on taking things slowly. Bloody slowly.

“Do you think he’s asleep yet?” said Shinwon. He had cocooned himself in a duvet, and Hongseok had copied him.

“Probably,” said Hongseok. His back was turned to Shinwon. “Why?”

“I told you, I hog the bed,” was all the warning Shinwon gave, before he kicked the back of Hongseok’s calves with both his feet. He smirked as he heard Hongseok yelp, followed by the sound of him sliding off the bed and landing on the floor.

“Shinwon-ah—” Hongseok started, as he sat up. It was dark enough that Shinwon could barely make out his outline, but he could feel him staring at him. “You’ve never hogged the bed before.”

“Well, from tonight, I do.” Shinwon made sure to lie down diagonally with his feet facing Hongseok, to prove his point.

“Stop being so petty.”

“You have a _chance_ , Hongseok-ie.”

“I’m not rushing into anything.”

Shinwon could just about glimpse Hongseok standing up, and staring at him, like he was trying to work out how to get back onto the bed. Shinwon wriggled a little to try and take up even more space.

“If you want to sleep on a bed, go to your own room,” said Shinwon. “I’m sure your bed’s big enough.” He shut his eyes, even though he was sure that Hongseok couldn’t see him properly, and he made an exaggerated snoring noise.

Shinwon felt Hongseok reach over to grab his pillow. A short silence followed, which made Shinwon frown; even if Hongseok had tried to walk away as quietly as possible, he would still have made some noise. He stuck his head up, and tutted when he saw Hongseok’s outline on the floor.

“You are so unromantic, Hongseok-ie,” said Shinwon, as he laid down again.

“Why are you so obsessed with me and Changgu?” he heard Hongseok say.

“You know what, it doesn’t matter anymore. Go to sleep.” Shinwon rolled over onto his side. As he lay there, starting to doze off from the little wine he’d consumed a few hours ago, he really hoped that Jinho and Hwitaek were sorting things out between them, otherwise the whole Friday night plan was for nought.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jinho and Hwitaek break the news.

A slither of sunlight gently roused Jinho the following morning. The first thing he became aware of was that his head really hurt, and he winced as he stretched his legs, kicking the duvet a little in the process. Then he realised he was spooning someone, and he pulled them in closer by the waist. The tip of his nose bumped into the back of someone’s head, and he breathed in. The shampoo smelt like the one Hwitaek used—oh, that was right, he’d fallen asleep cuddling him. He tried to get comfortable again, except the headache was now keeping him awake.

“Jinho?” he heard Hwitaek say, in a hushed voice.

“Myheadhurts,” said Jinho.

“What was that?” said Hwitaek. Jinho flinched at how loud he sounded.

“It hurts…” Jinho patted Hwitaek’s belly, like it was a signal for him to turn around. Through his half-opened eyes, he saw Hwitaek shift, and he smiled when they made eye contact.

“What hurts?” Hwitaek’s tone was light and teasing, and Jinho pouted at him.

“Don’t make fun of me like that,” he said. “My head hurts.”

Hwitaek smiled, and his eyes turned into crescents. He looked so pure, yet so sleepy with his strands of hair all over the place, that Jinho forgot how to breathe for a second. How could he be so lucky, he thought, as he shuffled in closer until his body was pressed up to Hwitaek’s.

“You shouldn’t have drunk so much wine, then,” said Hwitaek, still teasing. He draped his arms across Jinho’s back.

“Do something about it. Make it go away.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Jinho placed a hand on the back of Hwitaek’s head, and he threaded his fingers through the messy strands of hair. He leaned in until their foreheads touched, and then gently pressed his lips on Hwitaek’s. If all their kisses last night had been full of passion and relieving one year’s worth of longing, then he was determined to take this one slowly, since they had all the time in the world right now. He melted into Hwitaek’s embrace the moment the latter kissed him back, making gentle, satisfied sighs into his mouth.

Jinho slung a leg over Hwitaek’s thighs, before he pushed him onto his back. They separated, and Jinho rolled over until he was now lying on top. Jinho slipped one leg in-between Hwitaek’s, and he began to comb both his hands through his hair. Instead of fixing Hwitaek’s hair, however, he only made the strands stick up even more.

“Are you feeling better?” said Hwitaek, as he hooked one arm across Jinho’s lower back.

The truth was that Jinho’s headache had eased a little, but he still wince and grumbled in an exaggerated way. “It helped a bit,” he said, “but I think I’ll have to kiss you again, just to make sure.”

Hwitaek laughed. He put his other hand on the back of Jinho’s head, and pulled him close until their lips met again. This time, Jinho kissed him a bit harder, and he felt Hwitaek gasp into his mouth. Jinho ran his right hand down along Hwitaek’s jaw and neck first, before he dipped past his pecs and belly, and he shifted aside slightly to settle his hand on his inner thigh. He’d stopped high enough that he could feel Hwitaek’s breathing hitch for a second, and then he gently squeezed his thigh.

Hwitaek moaned into his mouth. Greedy for more, Jinho gave another squeeze, and smiled as he felt Hwitaek shudder. He fingers glided further up—which was when Hwitaek broke the kiss. Although Jinho whined, he rested his chin on his shoulder.

“You’ve…” Hwitaek started. “I didn’t know you … we’ve never done this so early before…”

“What?” said Jinho, as he lifted his head up. He smiled at Hwitaek, and noted how the latter’s Adam apple bobbed inwards. “Am I not allowed to play with my boyfriend in the morning?”

A deep blush spread across Hwitaek’s cheeks. “Now that you put it like that…”

Jinho chuckled. “What’s the matter? You weren’t this shy last night.” He leaned in even closer until he was speaking straight into Hwitaek’s ear. “I think we’ve still got the house to ourselves…”

He kissed Hwitaek’s ear, and then planted another kiss on his jaw as he gave his thigh another squeeze. All Hwitaek did was moan and bite his lip, but it was the approval that Jinho needed, and he ducked down underneath the duvet.

***

Shinwon didn’t wake up until some point after ten o’clock, when he felt Hongseok pat him hard on his chest. At first, Shinwon just grumbled and rolled over onto his side—but then came the faint smell of freshly fried bacon, eggs, and hash browns, and he sat up straightaway. When he trudged into the kitchen ten minutes later, he found Changgu and Hongseok sat next to each other and eating a fry-up for breakfast, with one untouched dish in front of them. There was a portion of baked beans on the side as well, and Shinwon licked his lips.

“Something smells _good_ ,” he said, as he sat down. “Morning.”

Hongseok looked at Changgu. “I told you he’d get up in no time,” he said.

Shinwon started to cut up some bacon. “Have you two been psychologically profiling me?”

Hongseok rolled his eyes. “Changgu woke me up first, and then we tried to wake you up except you were sleeping like a log. I then told Changgu that if I cooked a fry-up, then you would definitely wake up, and he thought it was really funny and wanted to see it happen.”

Shinwon pouted. “You mean you were going to make something else if I’d woken up the first time around?”

“Don’t look at me like that, Ko Shinwon. You don’t deserve a fry-up after last night.”

“Oh, yeah,” said Changgu. He sounded like he had just been reminded of something. “Why were you sleeping on the floor last night, Hongseok-ie?”

“I don’t know,” said Hongseok, as he turned to Shinwon. “Why was I on the floor?”

“Don’t ask me,” said Shinwon, trying to sound as innocent as he could. “You were still on the bed when I fell asleep.”

Hongseok snorted. “Funny you should say that,” he said, “I remember you were really awake when you kicked me out.”

Shinwon hummed. “You must’ve been dreaming.” He decided to move the topic on, and he turned to Changgu. “Have you heard from Jinho or Hwitaek hyung?”

Changgu shook his head. “Why?” he said. “Are you expecting something from them?”

“I’m just wondering how we should plan our day,” was all Shinwon said, before he shoved the bacon into his mouth.

He knew that they couldn’t stay over too long at Hongseok’s. They had troubled him enough already with the sleepover, plus his deadline was coming up in four days. With that in mind, Shinwon pulled his phone out of his pocket, and glanced over his messages. He had missed messages from his sister, his parents, several ex-dormmates, and one from Hyunggu telling him about another dance session that was taking place Monday evening. There was nothing from Jinho or Hwitaek; and when Shinwon clicked on their profiles, he discovered that neither of them had been online since six o’clock last night.

Shinwon had no idea whether to be pleased or not. The lack of activity suggested that things had gone well, but there was still a chance that Shinwon would return home to find them both in floods of tears or, worse, find that nothing had happened. The dreadful thing was, Shinwon had no idea which scenario he would find the most favourable. All he knew was that he didn’t want to return to the house too early.

He put his phone away, and he began to chew on a hash brown as he said, “I need to go to town. I might as well get a head start on my Christmas shopping.”

Both Hongseok and Changgu frowned.

“It’s a bit early for that, isn’t it?” said Changgu.

“No. It’s going to be December in three days.”

“Already?” said Hongseok. “You’re kidding me.” He ate a piece of bacon off his fork.

“See? It’s always a good idea to get it done nice and early.”

Hongseok snorted, and then coughed like he had choked on his food. Tears gathered in his eyes, and he let Changgu pat him on the back.

“You never get things done nice and early,” said Hongseok, when he had swallowed. He turned to Changgu. “Do you know how late he left his shopping last year?”

“No,” said Changgu.

Shinwon waved his hand. “Hey, those things don’t matter—”

“He started his shopping the day before we left our dorms to go home.”

“—what matters is that everyone got a present from me,” Shinwon continued.

Hongseok wagged his fork in Shinwon’s direction, and said, “You tried to buy your sister a handbag that she already uses.”

“It wasn’t the exact one, Honk. It was a similar one, but in brown.”

“My point still stands.”

“Hongseok’s right—” said Changgu.

“Changgu-ya—” Shinwon pouted even harder as he faced his housemate. “I was being considerate.”

They bickered as they continued to eat breakfast. No matter how much Shinwon tried to delay things, he knew they had to leave soon; and Hongseok ended up throwing them out just before one o’clock. Shinwon led the way to the high street, where the first place they entered was a clothes shop. He began to flick through an assortment of jackets and winter coats hanging off a low rail.

“I was thinking,” Shinwon started, “if we don’t hear anything from Jinho or Hwitaek hyung by two, we should text them.”

“They haven’t been online since yesterday,” said Changgu. He picked up a jacket, and turned the hanger around to inspect the back. “I’m sure it should be fine to just go back any time. I doubt we’ll be interrupting anything.”

“I don’t want to walk in on them getting it off with each other.” Shinwon looked at Changgu. The latter opened his mouth, but then he blushed, and hesitated. Shinwon gripped the rail hard—Changgu wasn’t about to say something about him and Jinho, was he—?

“They … they should have enough sense to keep it upstairs,” was what Changgu said.

Shinwon tried to relax, but his shoulders just tensed up even more. “They should,” he said, “but they’ve had the entire house to themselves, so … who knows?”

Changgu frowned, and then he put the jacket back. “We don’t even know if they _have_ got together.”

Shinwon shuffled on the spot. He picked up the black trench coat that was directly in front of him, and he fiddled with the belt buckle.

“Well,” said Shinwon, after a pause, “as the saying goes, no news is good news.”

Changgu still didn’t look convinced as he pointed at the coat.

“Are you buying that for yourself?” he said.

Shinwon shrugged. “I was only taking a look.” He started to put the coat back, but Changgu stopped him, and reached over to take the hanger for himself.

“You were right,” said Changgu, “we should get a head start on Christmas shopping. I’ve met so many new people, but I’ve got no idea what to buy them.”

Shinwon smiled as an idea crossed his mind. “That coat you’re holding right now is in Hongseok’s size.”

Changgu reached inside the coat to flip the price tag over. “Do you think he’ll like it?”

“I think he will.” Shinwon pinched the sleeve, and pulled it closer to him to get a better view of the design. “He’ll look dashing in it. Remember to tell him to tie the belt a little tighter, by the way, it’ll give him something of a waist.”

“What are you getting Hongseok?”

“I’ll think of something.” Shinwon didn’t want to press the subject any further, not when the idea in his head was related to Changgu. He let go of the sleeve. “Don’t tell him I helped you, okay?”

Changgu hooked the hanger back onto the rail. “Wait, I’ve only just got to know him. Isn’t it a bit too early for me to start buying him clothes?”

Shinwon crossed his arms. “Okay, what else are you going to buy him then?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t even thinking about Christmas shopping. I thought we were going to stay behind at Hongseok’s for a bit longer.”

“We had to leave. You do know that he has a deadline coming up on Tuesday, don’t you? I thought it was best we didn’t outstay our welcome.”

“I know, he mentioned it last week. Are you actually going to buy anything from here?”

“I don’t think I will. Why, do you want to go somewhere?”

“I’m starting to feel hungry,” said Changgu, as he began to lead the way out of the shop. “I think we should grab something to eat.”

“Where do you want to go?”

Changgu shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

They left the shop, and began to walk down the high street. Shinwon suggested a few places, and so did Changgu; and they were still debating between themselves where to go when—

“Changgu hyung—” a familiar voice called, from somewhere behind them. “Shinwon hyung—”

They turned around at the same time, and Shinwon smiled as he saw Yuto and Wooseok walk up to them. Yuto was grinning back at them, but Wooseok had his lips pursed. Then Wooseok made eye contact with Shinwon, and he managed to curl his lips into a small smile.

“Yuto-ya,” he heard Changgu say, “fancy running into you here.”

“I know,” said Yuto, “I saw the back of your heads, and I wondered if it was you. Are you going shopping?”

“No, we were just wondering where we should get lunch.”

“Do you want to go to the place we usually go to on Tuesdays?” Yuto’s eyes lit up as he spoke. “I was just saying to Wooseok-ie that we should go there, since we’re kind of hungry as well.”

Changgu’s mouth opened like he hadn’t even thought of the option.

“Yeah, let’s go there,” he said. He turned to Shinwon. “It’s really good, it’s family owned. The parents set up the shop, and their three kids help them out. They’re all really lovely people.”

With such an endorsement, Shinwon agreed, and the four of them started to walk together, with the two older students flanking the younger two. Changgu walked next to Yuto, and Shinwon was on Wooseok’s other side.

“Changgu hyung,” said Yuto, “are you still going to the gym on Tuesday morning?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there if you come,” said Changgu. “It’s just Hongseok who’s not coming.”

Yuto nodded. “Okay. I wasn’t sure if we were meeting or not.”

“Yeah, we are, it’s just going to be us two.”

Shinwon looked at them, but his attention soon fell on Wooseok. The latter had his head bowed a little, and although strands of coral hair fell in front of his face, it was still possible to tell that he had curled his lips. Shinwon gently nudged his elbow.

“Are you okay, Wooseok?” he said.

Wooseok started. “Yeah,” he said, as he looked at Shinwon. “I’m fine. Why?”

“You look like you got out of bed on the wrong side this morning.”

“Really?” Wooseok cleared his throat. “It must be from … from all the work. I haven’t … had a chance to stretch my legs much.”

Shinwon chuckled. “If you do any more stretching, you’re going to be seven feet tall by Christmas.”

Wooseok laughed as well.

“Where’s Hyunggu?” Shinwon continued. “I thought he’d tag along with you.”

“He’s getting on with an assignment. He wants to hit 2,000 words before Monday.”

“Oh, yeah, he said there’s another dance thing happening on Monday. Are you going?”

“Of course I am. Hyunggu-ya keeps saying how amazing the choreography’s become, and he’s so excited to show us. Are you going, hyung?”

Shinwon shrugged. “I don’t know if I can make it yet.” Well, he couldn’t tell Wooseok the whole truth. He had work to be getting on with, but he was also waiting to see what the situation with Jinho and Hwitaek was like first before deciding.

“You should come,” said Wooseok. His tone sounded sincere. “Hyunggu really liked it when you came last time.”

“Awww, that’s sweet of him.” Before Shinwon could say anymore, he noticed Yuto and Changgu turning down a small road to their left, and he followed them. There were a few more shops lining the road, and Changgu led the way into a café on their right.

They were seated by the window. Yuto sat down first, and Shinwon watched as Wooseok walked quicker than usual to reach the other side of the table, to bag the seat next to his roommate. Changgu stood still, but he didn’t appear to notice anything, and he sat on the seat opposite Yuto. Shinwon kept quiet as he sat down, and he picked up the menu off the table.

Shinwon knew he had to pick the right time to speak, so he held his tongue as they ordered their food, and he waited even longer until their drinks arrived. He took a sip of his coke, and then turned to Changgu.

“Are you going to Hyunggu’s dance thing on Monday?” he said.

Changgu shook his head. “I’ve got to read up on a few things. I’m afraid I haven’t got the time.”

“Are you going, hyung?” said Yuto.

Shinwon looked at him. “I was saying to Wooseok earlier, I don’t know if I can. I’ve got stuff to get on with as well.” He glanced at Wooseok as he spoke. The younger student’s face was emotionless, but there seemed to be an excited gleam in his eyes.

Yuto tried to convince him to come, and Shinwon seized the chance to move onto another topic. He looked at Wooseok a few more times, sometimes making eye contact with him. The main thing he noticed was how focused he was with Yuto; he responded to everything that Yuto said, and, more often than not, Wooseok kept leaning on Yuto’s shoulder. Once, Wooseok even stopped Yuto’s bag from sliding off the back of his chair.

They left the café an hour later, and Yuto and Wooseok soon parted ways with them. As much as Shinwon wanted to stay on the high street for longer, he knew that Changgu was growing impatient to return to the house; and Shinwon figured that there was no point in delaying things any further. He would find out what had happened last night anyway, sooner or later.

Shinwon tried to avoid talking about Jinho or Hwitaek on their walk back to the house. As they drew closer, however, Changgu started to become increasingly curious about the possibility of what could have happened last night; and although Shinwon did answer him, and indulge him in the three scenarios, he had to force himself to stay calm. He had to put on an act; if Jinho and Hwitaek were together, he would have to hold back his tears; if they had fallen out, then he would have to be sympathetic, not happy; but if nothing happened, he wasn’t sure if he had the strength to plot a third plan.

When they arrived home, Shinwon pressed the doorbell as he turned the lock.

“I don’t want to walk in on them doing stuff,” said Shinwon, without looking at Changgu.

He pushed the front door open. There were no stray pieces of clothes lying around, no unusual sounds; the house looked normal. There was nothing to suggest that anything had even happened last night, a thought which Shinwon tried to ignore as he took off his shoes and put them on the top shelf of the shoe rack.

“We’re back,” he heard Changgu call out.

A dull thud came from the kitchen, and it sounded a lot like something hitting a table. Shinwon walked in to find Jinho sat down at the table. Next to him and leaning on the edge was Hwitaek, who was rubbing his knee. Both of their faces were a shade of bright pink, and both of their lips looked plumper and redder than usual.

“Shinwon-ah,” said Hwitaek. He was smiling, but the corners of his mouth didn’t stretch that far across his face. “Changgu-ya, you’re back.”

“We weren’t interrupting anything, were we?” said Shinwon, as he did his best to smile back. His own cheeks felt tense too.

“No,” said Jinho, as he fluttered his eyelids at Hwitaek. His blush turned into a darker shade of red. “We can always continue where we left off later, right?”

Shinwon raised his eyebrows. He looked at Changgu, who was just as surprised, before he turned back. Jinho laced his fingers with Hwitaek’s, and then he stood up so that he could rest his head on his shoulder.

“We’ve got something to tell you,” said Jinho. He took in another breath. “We talked things through last night. We’re boyfriends now.”

Changgu squealed and ran over to hug them both. Shinwon followed him, but he avoided eye contact as he hugged Hwitaek first. He reached over to draw Jinho into a group hug once he was free, and he made sure to keep his back to Changgu as he shut his eyes. If anybody asked why he was tearing up a little, he could always say that he was happy for Jinho and Hwitaek. Yes, he was pleased for them, he reasoned to himself, this was something that he’d wanted to happen ever since September. He had worked for this moment, even if things had gone astray in the middle.

Shinwon hugged them for a few more seconds before he let go, and he smiled and congratulated them. He heard Changgu ask them for more details about last night, and he chose to focus on the top of Hwitaek and Jinho’s heads as they talked. This was their story, their moment; and besides, he was curious to find out just how they got together, and how much of his plan had worked.

Even though Shinwon tried to avoid looking at them, to keep his emotions in check, he started when Jinho explained about Hwitaek rejecting him at first. For the first time, he made eye contact with Hwitaek. The latter was writhing on the spot, and his lips were pursed together out of embarrassment, but there was a glint in his eyes that wasn’t sitting right with Shinwon. They stared at each other for a short while, until Jinho squeezed Hwitaek’s hand to ask him about something, and Hwitaek turned to his boyfriend.

“Have you told anyone else yet?” said Shinwon, when they were finished.

Jinho shook his head. “You’re the first people to find out,” he said. He looked at Shinwon, but then turned back to Hwitaek just as quick.

Shinwon could have sworn that Jinho gripped Hwitaek’s hand even tighter, and that the latter let out a quiet, surprised gasp.

“I’m honoured,” said Shinwon, as playfully as he could. “I thought you’d have told Hyojong hyung and Hyuna nuna already.”

“We … we thought it was better if you knew first,” said Hwitaek. He looked at Shinwon first, but then glanced at Changgu as if he had only just remembered that he was also in the room. “We’re going to tell Hyojong and Hyuna soon.”

Shinwon nodded. “That’s great, but I need to go upstairs now, I’ve got work to get on with.”

He disappeared to his room, and made sure to lock the door behind him. He sat down on the edge of his bed, and groaned as he put his head in his hands. His plan had worked, and Jinho and Hwitaek looked so sweet and happy together—but he was also wishing that he hadn’t spoken so much to Hwitaek on Wednesday, or that he had never met up with Hongseok at all on Monday. Or, maybe, what if he hadn’t pushed Hwitaek away? What if he had kept his hands on his neck, and see what would have happened from there?

Shinwon shook his head. This was not the time to have those types of thoughts. He pulled his phone out of his bag to open his messages, and he read over Hyunggu’s text several times. Maybe it was better for them all if he went on Monday. He could do with a distraction, at the very least.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinwon wants a distraction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, if I'm going to be late, might as well make it fashionably late lol

If it was possible for Shinwon to sleep through the whole of Sunday, he would have gone for that option. He spent most of the day shut up inside his room instead, and he only headed out to grab something to eat, or when he grew too bored of staring at the same four walls.

When he did leave, he tried to be quick about returning to his room. Jinho and Hwitaek seemed to be joined at the hip now; he always saw them embracing each other, sometimes with rosy cheeks like Shinwon had just interrupted something intimate. He hated how he could feel their glares on the back of his head whenever he was in the same room as them, and when he left them alone. They shouldn’t be looking at him like that; they should be devoted to each other only.

The whole of Sunday soon paled in comparison to Monday morning. Shinwon sat up in bed after the third time his alarm rung, and he trudged out of his room, furiously blinking, to freshen up in the toilet—and then Jinho’s door opened, and Hwitaek stepped out. Shinwon’s eyes widened the moment he realised that they were both only wearing underwear, and nothing else.

“Morning,” said Hwitaek, in a hushed voice. He ruffled one hand through his messy hair; and with the other hand, he pulled the door behind him to a gentle close.

“…morning,” said Shinwon, after he became aware that he was spending too long just looking. “You … er, had a good night?”

Hwitaek blushed a little. “Yeah, Jinho-ya went to bed early for once. He looks so cute when he’s asleep.”

“I—” Shinwon stopped himself in time from blurting out ‘know’. He coughed, and then continued, “I can imagine.”

“I’m always telling him that he needs more sleep.”

“I can hear you,” said Jinho from his room. He sounded muffled, like he was speaking with his head in his pillow.

Hwitaek’s eyes widened, and he leaned his back on the door. “Go back to sleep,” he said.

“I’m cold…” Jinho’s voice was even quieter this time, and Shinwon had an image of him curled up, looking so pitiful that he wanted to swoop into his room and wrap as much of his own body as he could around him.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” said Hwitaek.

Shinwon started as the reality of the situation struck him again. He pushed his own bedroom door open, and took a step back.

“Did you want to use the toilet?” he said. “You go first. I can wait.”

“It doesn’t really matter who goes first,” said Hwitaek. “I can’t stay with Jinho for long anyway. I’ve got to get ready for uni.”

Shinwon stared, and then he remembered that they had class at the same time as each other. He took another step back into his room, and put his hand on the door handle.

“It’s fine, you go,” he said. “I … I’m feeling a little cold, I’m going to get dressed first.”

Shinwon shut the door before Hwitaek could respond. Well, he was definitely going to go to Hyunggu’s dance session tonight, but the idea of killing eight hours in-between was looking difficult. He didn’t know if he wanted to come home after class; okay, Jinho would be out attending his own lessons by the time Hwitaek came back home, but did he want to face either of them alone in this time?

As Shinwon sorted through the books he needed, he stared at the textbooks for tomorrow’s class, and he shoved them into the bottom of his bag. He then considered pulling them back out again. He couldn’t go running to Hongseok’s again, not when his friend’s deadline was tomorrow. Besides, it was impractical for him to keep running away. The earlier he accepted things, the faster he could move on.

Shinwon pulled the books out, and chucked them on his desk again. He opened his wardrobe and began to pull out a shirt when he heard a knock on his door.

“I’m finished,” he heard Hwitaek say. “I’ll be down soon, okay?”

“Yeah,” said Shinwon, without looking at his door, “thanks.” He continued to rummage through his wardrobe until he heard Jinho’s door close shut, and then he grabbed the first pair of jeans that he saw. He slipped his clothes on and hurried out into the bathroom.

At least there were plenty of distractions in the house. He couldn’t talk to Hwitaek that much because he was busy making breakfast, then eating it, and then washing up his plate. After breakfast, he couldn’t really say anything either as they were on the verge of running late, and he still had to pack his laptop into his bag before they could leave. When they were outside, however, Shinwon knew that someone would have to say something soon; and after a few minutes of walking in silence, he took in a breath.

“You … er, are you and Jinho hyung going on any dates soon?” he said.

Hwitaek kept fiddling with his bag straps as he answered, “Yeah, we … we have tickets for the cinema on Friday.”

“Nice. When are you going?”

“In the evening. I thought Jinho-ya needed a break.”

“He really does.” Shinwon smiled a little. “Remember what I said to you?”

“I need to say ‘no’ to him, sometimes.” Hwitaek blushed as he spoke. “I know.”

A short silence fell between them.

“Isn’t it your birthday next week?” said Hwitaek. “It’s next Friday, isn’t it?”

Shinwon hesitated as he mentally counted the days. “You’re right…” he said, “it is…”

“Did I just remind you of _your own birthday_?” said Hwitaek, with a giggle.

Shinwon laughed with him. “The whole year’s just blurring into one. I could’ve sworn it was only January yesterday.”

Hwitaek nodded. “What did you do for your birthday last year? I guess there must have been a party involved?”

Shinwon shook his head. “I didn’t actually plan anything. My dormmates and Hongseok threw me a surprise party, but that was it.”

“Huh, I thought you’d have done something.”

“Well, I didn’t really know anyone last year, and we were all a little busy with assignments and stuff. Why, do you want to do something for me?”

“Well…” Hwitaek started, but then Shinwon held out his finger to silence him.

“I get it,” said Shinwon. “I don’t want to ruin my own surprise. Let’s pretend that we were talking about … erm…” He looked Hwitaek up and down, trying to work out what exactly he could say about him. “…your hair.”

“My hair?” said Hwitaek, as he blinked.

“Yeah, I can see the blue’s fading.” Shinwon eyed his roots and could just about see the patch of brown on the top of his head. “Are you going to dye it again?”

“Maybe. What colour do you think I should go for?”

“If we stick to the colours of the rainbow…”

Hwitaek leaned in a little closer. “I’m listening.”

Shinwon grinned at him. “How about o—”

“No.” Hwitaek’s smile was even wider than Shinwon’s.

“You don’t know what I was going to say.”

“You were going to say orange, like a pumpkin.”

Shinwon rolled his eyes. For someone who hated the comparison, Hwitaek had really taken it to heart.

“I wasn’t going to say orange,” said Shinwon, with a slight wriggle of his shoulders.

“Oh, really? What else starts with ‘o’, then?”

“I was trying to say o … o … oh, you would look good with purple.”

Hwitaek giggled as he patted Shinwon’s arm, and then leaned on him. His head rested on his shoulder, and Shinwon’s breath hitch. The temptation to run his hand through his hair was strong.

“What kind of an answer is _that_?” said Hwitaek.

“That’s why you should always listen to the end of a sentence first.”

“Do you really think purple hair would suit me?”

“Anything would look good on you.”

Hwitaek hummed. “What if I want to just keep my hair brown for now?”

“If that’s what you want to do, go for it.”

“I was a brunet when I first met Jinho,” said Hwitaek. Shinwon’s face fell. “My hair was starting to grow back after I’d bleached it blond for nearly a whole year. I was going to leave it, but then Jinho found my old pictures on Facebook and really wanted to see me with dyed hair.”

“That’s cute,” said Shinwon. He knew that he should push Hwitaek’s head off his shoulder soon, but it felt so comfortable that he started to tell himself it wouldn’t hurt to keep him like that for just a bit longer.

“I didn’t do anything at first, but then the mistletoe thing happened, and then we were apart for Christmas, and I thought, why don’t I surprise him by dying my hair? I dyed it bright red, and it washed out into pink by the time it was Valentine’s Day.”

“How romantic of you.”

Hwitaek lifted his head up, and Shinwon almost pouted at him from how cold his shoulder felt. He wanted to tell him to put his head down again, but he managed to hold his tongue.

“Jinho-ya said the exact same thing to me.” Hwitaek’s eyes were wide.

“I’m not surprised. You knew the colour would fade like that, didn’t you?” said Shinwon. When Hwitaek took a little while to answer, Shinwon nudged him on the arm. “That’s so cute of you, hyung.”

Hwitaek just blushed.

***

The moment Shinwon’s class ended, he bolted out of the classroom door, but then slowed down when he left campus. If he didn’t return home, he had no idea how to while away the next eight hours before Hyunggu’s dance practice started. He knew that he might as well use the time to start his Christmas shopping seriously, and then have lunch, but he wasn’t sure if that was enough to occupy his entire afternoon.

When Shinwon reached the high street, the first place he went into was the department store. He took the escalator up to the third floor, where the home section was, and he weaved his way past various displays until he found an entire section dedicated to wall clocks. Shinwon was at that stage where he could give presents to Hongseok that were more symbolic, rather than practical. The clock was his reminder to Hongseok that if he was going to continue being this stubborn, then time was ticking, and Changgu would probably opt for somebody else. They were already suspicious about Yan An, for a start, and not to mention that they were drawing closer and closer to Yuto with each gym session. With that in mind, Shinwon picked up the clock that had the largest numerals printed on, before he began to wonder what he should buy everyone else.

The main thing he pondered was whether he should get Jinho and Hwitaek matching presents. He had to act like everything was fine, so they would be expecting him to buy something more unusual—and to be honest, he was tempted for something funny as well, if only to stop himself from potentially bursting into tears whenever they decided to exchange presents.

By the time Shinwon left the department store, he had managed to find only Hongseok’s present. He glanced at the time on his phone; it was just after half twelve. He headed to a nearby restaurant for lunch, and then wandered around the high street again as he continued to decide whether to go home or not, when he swore he could hear someone calling for him. He turned around a few times, and then spotted Hwitaek and Hyojong walking up to him.

“I thought you had gone home,” said Hwitaek. He both looked and sounded amazed.

Shinwon found it easier to talk by mainly looking at Hyojong. “I thought I’d get some Christmas shopping done,” he said. “Wait, are you finished for the day already?”

“Shinwon, it’s ten past one,” said Hyojong.

“Is it?” said Shinwon, as he raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t notice.”

They started to walk together, to the other end of the high street, with Hwitaek now in the middle.

“By the way,” said Hyojong, as he looked at Shinwon, “I heard from Hwitaek-ie that you don’t know what you want to do for your birthday.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“We still need to celebrate Jinho and Hwitaek _finally_ becoming an item, so why don’t we have a cosy little get together on your birthday? Let’s celebrate two things at once.”

Shinwon’s eyes widened. No way, absolutely not, not on his birthday of all days. Besides, Jinho and Hwitaek had nothing to do with him, so why couldn’t they celebrate the two things separately? Then again, this was something that Shinwon would have to get used to; and the sooner he accepted things, the sooner he would have the heart to go and find himself someone else to fall in love with.

“Are you sure—” Hwitaek started.

“Don’t worry,” said Hyojong, “we’ll keep the booze in moderation this time. Nobody’s going to be barfing on the floor on your special day.”

“Hyojong—”

“We’re not going to get another chance. We’re all busy with work, and then we’ll be packing our bags to go home. I’d love to celebrate on two different days, but we don’t have the time.”

“Who do you want to invite?” said Shinwon.

“Shinwon, I don’t—” said Hwitaek. His voice wobbled, but was full of caution as well.

“No one. I’m thinking of keeping it a little party between us housemates,” said Hyojong. He was talking like Hwitaek hadn’t spoken at all. “It’s just going to be me, my baby, you, Hwitaek and Jinho, and Changgu.”

“That sounds good. If you don’t mind, I’d like to invite Hongseok along as well.”

“Why would I mind? It’s your birthday.”

“Let’s go for it.” Shinwon grinned, and then looked at Hwitaek. He decided to ignore the frown on his housemate’s face. “I know Hongseok’s been waiting for a chance to congratulate you. He’s really happy for you and Jinho hyung.”

Hwitaek just nodded, but he still looked unconvinced. He didn’t say anything though, at least not until Hyojong had returned home, and they continued the walk back to the house.

“Isn’t it a better idea to keep the two things separate?” said Hwitaek. “Your birthday’s important on its own.”

Shinwon waved his hand. “Hey, you and Jinho hyung are just as important,” he said. “I don’t see the problem. Hyojong hyung and Hyuna nuna have been rooting for you two for nearly an entire year, so obviously they’ll want to throw a party for you.”

“Yeah, but not on your birthday. We can do that any other time.”

“Not really. Hyojong hyung’s right. We’re all leaving for home the week after my birthday, so we’ll all be busy packing up stuff and getting last minute jobs out of the way.”

Hwitaek shook his head. “I’ll tell Hyojong that we’re meeting on Friday for your birthday only. Nobody needs to throw a party for me or Jinho. We’re not doing anything special.”

“Hyung, stop it,” said Shinwon, in a firmer tone. “It’s my birthday, I can do what I want on it.” He had an inkling that he knew why Hwitaek was resisting so much; yes, he was in love with Jinho, but he still had some leftover feelings for Shinwon. They were both dealing with a crush that couldn’t be allowed to exist anymore.

Hwitaek looked like he wanted to argue back, but then he sighed and rested his hand on Shinwon’s shoulder. His hand stayed there for as long as it took them to make their way home; and he remained touching him up until when Shinwon unlocked the front door.

***

Shinwon returned to the campus on time for seven o’clock that evening. When he walked into the dance studio, the first people he spotted were Yuto and Wooseok, who were busy chatting away to two people whose names Shinwon couldn’t remember. Then he heard a familiar laugh from nearby, and he realised that Hyunggu and Yan An were standing close to the door and giggling away.

“Yan An?” said Shinwon, as he joined them. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Hyunggu hugged Shinwon at that point. He could still see Yan An, who was blushing hard but also shooting daggers at him. Shinwon smiled at him, and Yan An just curled his lip.

“I’m so glad you came,” said Hyunggu, when they parted. He gestured behind him. “Jaeyoung hyung was getting a little worried. He knew that we weren’t going to get as many people to come this time around.”

“It’s still a good turnout,” said Shinwon. “I can’t wait to see how you’ve changed the choreography. Are you excited as well, Yan An?”

Yan An crossed his arms, just as Hyunggu turned to look at him. For a moment, Shinwon was certain that he saw Yan An make eye contact with Hyunggu, because his classmate’s expression softened straightaway

“Of course I am,” said Yan An.

Hyunggu was called away at that point, and Shinwon and Yan An joined the other students and stood over to one side. Had Shinwon been in a better mindset, he probably would have gone over to Wooseok and Yuto instead. What he needed was a distraction, and Yan An was an open target right now. Since it was rare for Shinwon to be alone with Yan An, he reckoned that he could use this chance now to do Hongseok and Changgu a favour.

Shinwon kept quiet as the dance started. Hyunggu opened the routine again, and he figured that Yan An would not appreciate being disturbed at this point. He waited, then, until other dancers joined the stage; and under the cover of the music blaring through the studio, Shinwon leaned in closer to Yan An.

“I really like Hyunggu,” he said. “He’s so sweet.”

Yan An started, then looked at Shinwon for a few seconds before he said, “I know, he’s nice.”

“You two get on really well, don’t you?”

Yan An’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, we do.”

Shinwon cocked his head. “I bet you never guessed you’d be friends with a first year.”

Yan An looked like he wanted to answer him, but he didn’t know what he could say.

“I was starting to worry about you,” Shinwon continued. “I always thought you needed more than just _one_ friend. I was going to introduce you to some of my friends on Halloween, you know, if Hyunggu hadn’t showed up.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“It’s a good thing you don’t want it. I don’t think I could’ve introduced anyone as good as Hyunggu to you.”

“No,” he heard Yan An mumble.

Shinwon hooked an arm around Yan An, and the latter slipped himself free straightaway.

“It’s a shame there aren’t that many people here today,” said Shinwon, as he turned back to the dancers. “They’ve really improved the choreography, don’t you think?”

“It looks better.”

“I did ask Hongseok if he could come, but he had work to get on with. Then I asked Changgu, but he wanted to cram in some last-minute studying before tomorrow’s class, so it was just me who came.” Shinwon eyed Yan An as he spoke. Hongseok’s name didn’t draw a single reaction; but the moment he mentioned Changgu, Yan An wriggled on the spot a little.

“You … don’t have to tell me that,” said Yan An, when he calmed down.

Shinwon shrugged. “I just thought you’d like to know.” He waited for a few seconds, and then turned to his classmate with widened eyes. “Wait, didn’t Changgu tell you he wasn’t coming?”

“We didn’t talk about this.”

“Oh, didn’t you?”

“I … I don’t talk to him about everything.”

“I get it, I don’t share _every_ little thing with Hongseok-ie either. I bet you wouldn’t have this issue with Hyunggu, right?”

Yan An cleared his throat. “I’m trying to watch the performance,” he said, as he looked back at the dancers.

“You mean you want to watch Hyunggu.”

Yan An responded by hitting his elbow with his hand.

Just as Shinwon contemplated whether to say any more, he heard the music stop, and he joined in with the round of applause that followed. He decided that he would leave Yan An alone for now; for a start, Changgu and Hongseok were still just ordinary friends, and just because Changgu didn’t feel anything romantically towards Yan An now, his feelings could change at any time. It was fair to say that he was an expert in that particular area now.

The two groups started to mingle again, and Yan An was away to find Hyunggu. Shinwon glanced to his left, and then waved when he spotted Wooseok and Yuto walking over to him.

“I decided to come,” said Shinwon, smiling, when the younger students were nearer to him.

“Where’s Yan An hyung?” said Yuto. “I thought I saw him with you?”

“He’s gone to find his favourite dancer,” said Shinwon, as he turned his head towards the dancers. Yan An was taller than almost all the people gathered, making it easy to find him; and sure enough, he was chatting away to Hyunggu again. “Can you believe he only met Hyunggu a month ago? Look how close they are.”

“Tell me about it,” said Wooseok. “Hyunggu-ya’s already hyper as a person, but he gets even worse when he talks about Yan An hyung.”

Shinwon looked at the taller student. “Really?” he said. “Is he singing his praises all the time?”

Wooseok nodded. “The other day, Yan An hyung told him how his family cook baechu in Shanghai, and Hyunggu repeated _everything_ to me. He said he was going to try it later.”

“Awww, that’s cute. Does he do that with everyone he likes?” Shinwon puffed out his chest, and pointed at himself with his thumb. “Does he go on about how handsome I am?”

Shinwon almost giggled when he saw the looks that Yuto and Wooseok exchanged each other.

“If he has…” Yuto started, “…I’ve never heard him say it in front of me. Have you, Wooseok-ie?”

“I don’t think I have,” said Wooseok.

Shinwon pulled the most disgruntled look he could muster as he stood up straight again. He turned to find Hyunggu, and was about to pretend to yell at him when he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket to find that Jinho had messaged him.

**Jinho**  
Hey, what time are you coming home?

**Shinwon**  
I think I’ll be here for a bit longer. I should be back before eleven?

**Jinho**  
OK, I’ll see you then.

**Shinwon**  
If that’s too late, you don’t have to stay up for me.

**Jinho**  
It’s fine. I don’t think I could sleep anyway until I know you’re back.

**Shinwon**  
I’m a big boy, I can manage ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

**Jinho**  
Seriously, let me know when you’re leaving uni.

**Shinwon**  
OK

Shinwon decided that he was going to stay for as long as Wooseok, Yuto, Hyunggu, and Yan An were staying. Lucky for him, they were one of the last groups to leave at around half ten, after they helped the dancers clear the studio; and when they left the campus, they parted ways with the first years. After waving them off, Shinwon turned to Yan An with a grin.

“That was fun,” said Shinwon, as they walked towards the high street.

“It was,” said Yan An. His tone was flat.

“I’m glad I got to see Hyunggu again. I think we should hang out with him more. I swear the more I get to know him, the sweeter he gets.”

“Can we talk about someone else?”

“I thought he’s your favourite?”

Yan An rolled his eyes. At first, Shinwon was willing to drop the subject—but then his mind began to picture Jinho waiting in the living room, with his textbooks spread out in front of him. He could imagine his housemate trying to work but stopping every few minutes to check the time on his phone, and if he had received any new messages. The image persisted for a few minutes, and Shinwon shook his head—no, no, he needed a distraction again—he looked at Yan An.

“Guess what I heard from Wooseok?” said Shinwon. Yan An didn’t answer him. “He told me that Hyunggu was raving about your recipe for baechu.”

“Was he?” Yan An glanced at Shinwon, with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity.

“How do you cook it, anyway? If you’ve got Hyunggu’s endorsement, I’m sure it must be good.”

Yan An shrugged. “I can’t remember it off the top of my head.”

“It’s alright,” said Shinwon, as he tried to put his arms around his classmate’s shoulders. Yan An wriggled out of his grip again. “You can text me when you remember. You’ve got my number, right?”

“I’ll check when I get home.”

“It’s 016—”

“I’ll check later.”

They arrived in front of Yan An’s flat five minutes later. Shinwon watched his classmate hurry into the lobby, and then he was alone for the first time in hours. As Shinwon continued walking home, he tried to think about the evening. There were lots of things he could focus on; there was however much of the choreography that he saw; he could think about Yuto and Wooseok, and how the latter seemed the most cheerful he’d ever seen him; and, of course, there was Yan An and Hyunggu.

His thoughts wavered though. He started to think back to the whole of last week, from when he first suggested the sleepover to Hongseok, all the way through to Saturday, when he saw Jinho and Hwitaek in the kitchen. A few times, he stopped walking to dry his eyes. Then, he began to wonder if he should have listened to Hwitaek, and stopped Hyojong from trying to celebrate two things on the same day—why would he want to put himself in such a miserable mood on his own birthday, for goodness sake—but his original reasoning persisted once again.

Shinwon returned home to find that not a single downstairs light was on. He pawed for the light switch by the front door, and then began to take his shoes off. Just when he thought that it was possible for him to sneak upstairs, he heard a door open, followed by a set of footsteps drawing nearer and nearer to the top of the stairs, before stopping as another door opened. Shinwon stared at the stairs for a while; but when nobody appeared, he headed upstairs.

Both Changgu and Hwitaek’s rooms had the lights turned on, but only Changgu’s door was shut. Shinwon took in a deep breath as he walked up to Hwitaek’s room, and then knocked on the door and poked his head in.

“Hey,” he said, “I’m back.” He saw Hwitaek sat in front of his desk, with Jinho in his lap, and he decided to look down at the textbook that Jinho was holding onto. “I told you, you didn’t need to stay up for me.”

“I wanted to get some more work done,” said Jinho, with a shrug. At that moment, Hwitaek wrapped his arms around his waist, and pulled him just that bit closer back. “Anyway, it’s not just me. Hwitaek-ie wouldn’t be able to sleep either if he knew you were still out.”

Shinwon looked up, and saw how Jinho tilted his head a little so that Hwitaek had a space to rest his chin on his shoulders.

“You really don’t need to worry about me,” he said. Deciding that he wanted a change of subject, he nodded at the textbook. “How’s your work coming along?”

“It’s going well,” said Jinho. He turned his head slightly to look at Hwitaek. The latter, however, was squinting and frowning at Shinwon.

“Shinwon-ie, are you alright?” said Hwitaek. “Your eyes look really puffy.”

Shinwon covered his eyes with his arm, and feigned a yawn. He really should have checked he looked okay before entering the house.

“I’m just tired,” said Shinwon, without taking his hand away. “It must be from all that walking today.” He yawned again, said goodnight, and walked off to his room.

The moment he shut his door, he dumped his bag by his feet and sighed. At least they only had about a fortnight to go before they were all due to return home for the Christmas holidays. Shinwon only had to get through that and his birthday, and then he had three weeks away from Jinho and Hwitaek. He could come up with plenty of excuses then as to why he couldn’t talk; he had family members around, for example, and he had to continue with assignments and revision, and he had to help his parents cook, and accompany his sister on a last-minute hunt for Christmas gifts for a family member whose relation with them was so distant that they were almost unrelated.

The holidays couldn’t come fast enough.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Shinwon's birthday, and a familiar object makes a re-appearance.

On Tuesday, Shinwon woke up to find that Hyojong had created a group chat on Kakao, for the party on Friday. On Wednesday morning, Hyojong messaged Shinwon to ask him if he wanted any kind of food in particular; and Shinwon was in the middle of replying to him that he wanted hamburgers when he heard a knock on his door.

“Come in,” said Shinwon, and he looked up.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” said Jinho, as he entered the room.

“No.” Shinwon put his phone down on his desk. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to check something with you.” Jinho put his hands into his pockets. “Is Hyojong throwing us a party on the eleventh?”

Shinwon could guess what Jinho’s next question was going to be. “Yeah, he asked me if I was doing anything for birthday, and I said no, and then he suggested combing the two things together.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?”

Shinwon smiled slightly. “I gave Hyojong my blessing.”

“It’s your birthday, though.”

“Hyung, this is the only time we’ll be able to get everyone together to celebrate. We’re all leaving for home after that.” Shinwon shrugged. “Birthdays come around every year.”

“Shinwon.” Jinho glared, and Shinwon could see the stubbornness in his eyes. “We weren’t expecting anything when we got together. You don’t have to share your birthday with us.”

Shinwon walked over to Jinho, and he put his hands on his shoulders. In response, Jinho folded his arms.

“Hwitaek hyung was with us when Hyojong hyung suggested the idea,” said Shinwon. “He said the same thing to me.”

Jinho’s eyes widened, but he stayed silent.

“I know what I’m doing,” Shinwon continued. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Don’t say that,” said Jinho, as he shook his head. “I can’t just stop worrying about you like that.”

Shinwon let go of his housemate, and he took a step back. “Hey,” he said, in a gentle yet reprimanding tone, “you can’t think about me like that anymore. You’ve got to go to uni soon, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, I do.” Jinho didn’t look convinced as he left the room, and Shinwon tried not to think too hard about their conversation as he shut the door behind him.

If Changgu or Hongseok had any reservations about Shinwon’s birthday, they never said anything. Over the next two weeks, Shinwon just observed the group chat. Hyojong posted the most, usually just to confirm little details; and Hyuna teased them with pictures of neatly wrapped Christmas presents, and paper carrier bags that contained decorations. Soon, it was decided that the party would start at around seven o’clock; but Hyojong and Hyuna wanted to arrive thirty minutes earlier, so they could have enough time to put up some ‘finishing touches’. Since Shinwon needed to exchange Christmas presents with Hongseok, on Friday, he took the chance to go to Hongseok’s after class.

Hongseok handed his present over first. Shinwon could tell that it was a shoebox; and as he unveiled the box and opened the lid to reveal the pair of trainers that he’d wanted for the last few months, he momentarily wondered if he should have taken his present a bit more seriously. He could think of worser presents he’d given Hongseok before, but this time around, his friend had done his research. In comparison, Shinwon looked like he had panic-bought the first thing he could see on the shelf, five minutes before closing time.

“I know what you’re going to say…” said Shinwon, as he watched Hongseok tear the wrapping paper to reveal the clockface.

“Why have you…?” Hongseok began. His tone was calm, but he looked resigned.

“I thought I’d give you a nudge in the right direction.” Shinwon pointed at the clock. “ _That_ is a reminder that Changgu’s not going to stay single forever, and time’s ticking, so—”

“I thought you’d dropped it already?”

“I did for a day, and then I got bored and needed something to fuss over.” Shinwon grinned, but Hongseok pursed his lips. “What?”

“Is everything alright?” said Hongseok, softly.

“Yes,” said Shinwon, without blinking. He was busy thinking of a way to steer the conversation away from himself.

“You can tell me if something’s bothering you.”

Shinwon sighed, and looked down. “Alright, you know me too well,” he said, trying to sound sincere. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, everything’s not OK.”

“…what is it?” Hongseok’s voice sounded sharper. Shinwon glanced at him, and saw how his eyes had narrowed.

“You’re bothering me.” Shinwon lowered his hands. “You’re friends with a drop-dead gorgeous guy, and you’re not doing anything to upgrade your relationship with him.”

“You know I want to take things slowly.”

“I get that, but you’re going at snail’s pace.”

“Can we drop this? I don’t want to argue with you on your birthday.”

Shinwon sighed, and then put his arms around Hongseok’s shoulders. “I’m on your side, you know?”

Hongseok glared at him through narrowed eyes, and Shinwon figured that it was better to move on. Besides, he didn’t want to end up explaining to Hongseok that he needed a distraction.

They timed the walk to the house so that they arrived at five to seven. Shinwon unlocked the front door, and saw that the living room door was shut, although he could hear Hyuna telling Hyojong to take something down. Shinwon decided not to interrupt them, and he headed upstairs to his room with Hongseok following him.

Shinwon’s room looked like it had been taken over by presents. He placed the shoebox on the desk, where he had also put his birthday presents from his housemates. On the floor, by the foot of his bed, was where he had put all the Christmas presents that he had managed to buy, alongside the roll of half-used wrapping paper, and a piece of cardboard that had four unused stick-on gift bows still attached to it.

“That’s a lot of presents,” said Hongseok, from the doorway. He was holding his phone in his hand.

Shinwon chuckled as he sat down on his bed. “This is what Christmas looks like to me every year,” he said. “I’ve got so many presents to sort through.” He glanced over the Christmas pile, and then reached down for the bottle of soju that was at the back. He had adorned the neck of the bottle with a gift bow.

“You don’t normally drink soju.”

“That’s for Hyojong and Hyuna,” said Shinwon.

“Oh, right. Is it, like, their favourite drink or something?”

“Yeah, you could say that. Every time we’ve had a party here, they’ve always wanted a bottle.”

Hongseok nodded. Behind him, Jinho’s door opened, and Hwitaek walked out first with Jinho following him. They were holding hands, and Shinwon flinched and looked down at the bottle.

“Oh, Shinwon, you’re back,” said Hwitaek. “Hi Hongseok.”

Shinwon heard Hongseok congratulate Hwitaek and Jinho. He started to fiddle with the bow, like he was dissatisfied with how it had been attached onto the bottle. He gritted his teeth; he wasn’t going to cry on his birthday, he was going to accept the reality and move on. He took his phone out of his pocket, and glanced at the time.

“It’s five past seven,” he said, as he stood up. Hwitaek and Jinho had gone. “Do you think Hyojong and Hyuna are done downstairs yet?”

Shinwon took a step closer to the door, and Hongseok instantly stepped into the room. His arms were sticking out a little, and he glanced down at his own phone before looking up just as fast.

“I don’t think they are,” said Hongseok. “Jinho hyung said he’d check for us. We can wait for them.”

Shinwon was sure that he hadn’t heard Jinho say anything like that, but he could sense that Hongseok was holding him up. He just nodded, and decided to play along. Before he could say anything, however, Hongseok started to ask him about the various presents he had stacked in his room, and Shinwon went over everything.

“We should go down,” said Hongseok, a few minutes later, as he looked down at his phone. He turned it off and slipped it back into his pocket. “Let me hold the bottle. I … I want to see what their favourite brand is.”

Shinwon eyed him as he handed the soju over. Hongseok stepped out of his room first, but then waited for Shinwon to lead the way downstairs. It seemed that no-one else was upstairs, judging by the closed doors and darkened rooms. The light was on downstairs, but the living room door was still shut.

“They don’t look like they’re done,” said Shinwon, as they approached the living room.

“No, they should be,” said Hongseok. “Try opening the door.”

In Shinwon’s mind, there was no doubt that something was about to happen once he pushed the door open. Sure enough, he saw that the living room was dark, and the only source of light was coming from a candle not too far away—

“Happy birthday to you…”

Shinwon clasped his hands over his smile as the lights turned on, and he saw Jinho and Hwitaek each supporting one half of a chocolate-covered cake, and Changgu, Hyojong and Hyuna on either side of them. Behind him, he could hear Hongseok joining in with them.

“Make a wish,” said Hwitaek, when they had finished singing.

Shinwon closed his eyes. He thought about Jinho and Hwitaek first, and wished that they would be happy and content without him. He gritted his teeth a little as he forced himself to think about Hongseok next, and how he wished that nobody else would get in-between him and Changgu. Then he thought about Hyojong and Hyuna too; and he wished for everyone to stay safe and happy as he blew out the candle.

He heard the group cheer as he opened his eyes again, and then Hyojong mentioned something about cutting the cake up in the kitchen, and that their dinner might be growing cold. Shinwon stepped aside to let Jinho, Hwitaek, and Changgu lead the way out of the living room, and he held out his hand to take the soju from Hongseok.

“Hyung, nuna,” Shinwon started, as he handed over the bottle. “I’ve got your Christmas present here.”

Hyuna thanked him as she took the bottle. She was still holding onto it as Hyojong turned it around in her hands by the neck, like he was checking the brand.

“Ah, Shinwon-ie,” said Hyojong. He sounded more serious than Shinwon had been expecting. “I don’t like to go back on my promises, you know, but … don’t blame me if you find some sick on your carpet the next morning.”

Shinwon snorted. “I’ve seen you drink before, hyung,” he said. “You’re tougher than one bottle of soju.”

Hyojong raised his hands up. “I’m just warning you,” he said. “Come on, we should go before those three eat everything.”

Shinwon glanced around the room. Gold and white tinsel hung from all the walls, but it seemed the main feature were the inflatable letters that adorned the wall facing the doorway. Shinwon’s name was at the top, spelt out in shiny gold balloons; and underneath, in rose gold, were Jinho and Hwitaek’s names. Stuck on either side of their names were two pink heart-shaped balloons. Just looking at it was enough to make Shinwon hurry into the kitchen.

For the next hour, Shinwon was in the best company he could have wished for. With seven people crowded in the kitchen, there was no shortage of conversation. In that time, Shinwon cut his birthday cake and handed the slices around; and when they were finished eating, Hyojong opened a bottle of champagne, and passed the glasses around for a toast.

“To Shinwon, the birthday boy,” he said, “and to the happy couple, Jinho and Hwitaek. Cheers!”

Shinwon joined in as they all cheered and clinked glasses, and then he downed the entire flute in one go. He tried to avoid thinking about what could have been, had he not given Hwitaek a helping hand, or rejected Jinho several Saturdays ago. They could have been toasting him and either one of them right now. Today could have been a celebration for both his birthday and his new relationship.

“Shinwon?” he heard Hongseok say. “Are you OK?”

Shinwon started, and then realised that there were a few tears in his eyes. He wiped his eyes with his thumb, and looked around. Hyojong and Hyuna had left the kitchen, and Jinho, Hwitaek, and Changgu were talking by the sink.

“I’m fine,” said Shinwon, as he looked at Hongseok. “I must’ve drunk this too fast. It got a bit too much.”

Hongseok nodded, but his face was expressionless. “You kind of zoned out just then.”

Shinwon raised his eyebrows. “Who knew the champagne was that strong?” he said, hoping that his tone was teasing enough.

“Jinho-ya,” he heard Hyojong call, from the other side of the door. “Hwitaek-ie. Hyuna says some of the decorations fell down the back of the sofa, and she can’t move it on her own. Can you give her a hand?”

“Sure,” said Hwitaek, and he walked over to the door first with Jinho following him.

Shinwon watched as Hwitaek walked through the doorway, and then Hyojong cackled, and pointed up. Shinwon’s mouth dropped open as he spotted a piece of felt mistletoe dangling from the other side of the doorframe. He recognised the shape and colour of the mistletoe; it belonged to the headband that Hyojong had worn for Halloween.

“You’re standing under some mistletoe,” said Hyojong, as if it wasn’t obvious enough.

Hwitaek was still looking up as he turned around—and his glare fell on Shinwon. His eyes were wide from panic, and his mouth was also hanging open as he stuttered, also thrown off by the reappearance of the headband. Before he could say anything, Jinho grabbed the front of Hwitaek’s shirt with both hands and yanked him close just as he took a step forward, and their mouths met.

Hwitaek kept up eye contact with Shinwon for a second longer, before he screwed his eyes shut and wrapped both arms around Jinho’s lower back. Shinwon kept staring at his face, though, and he saw how Jinho ran one hand up along the side of Hwitaek’s neck and jaw, before his hand rested on the back of his head. He could hear Hyojong whooping, but he couldn’t join in. His whole body felt numb. All he could do was stand and watch as Jinho pressed his open mouth harder on Hwitaek’s, drawing a gasp from him.

Jinho let go of Hwitaek’s shirt to snake his other hand down across his chest, before slipping around to rest on his arse. Hyojong stopped cheering, and started to complain about them making out in front of him.

“OK, I get it, stop,” he said, a few seconds later, “you’ve made your point.”

Jinho pulled away first, and he looked over Hwitaek’s shoulder as they parted. He was smiling hard enough that his eyes changed into crescents, but his gaze was pointed.

“I thought you wanted a show?” said Jinho. His arm shifted a little, and Hwitaek yelped.

“Huh, since when did you become such a tough cookie?”

“Kim Hyojong—” Shinwon heard Hyuna yell from the living room. “—get your arse back here now.”

“I’m coming, babe,” Hyojong yelled back. He continued in a softer voice, “you should go and help.”

Jinho slipped his arm around Hwitaek’s, and lead him out of the kitchen. Shinwon could feel Hwitaek staring at him, and he decided to ignore him by walking around to the other side of Hongseok. He leaned against the counter when his legs felt like they were about to give way. Well, he certainly didn’t need to see Jinho and Hwitaek kiss like that in front of him, and on his birthday as well. He stared ahead into the kitchen, like he was seeking a distraction—but instead, he ended up making eye contact with Changgu, who flinched and looked down at the table.

“That was … something,” said Hongseok.

“Yeah,” said Shinwon.

“I’m going to make some drinks for everyone,” said Hyojong, as he entered the kitchen. “What do you all fancy?”

“Let’s crack open your soju,” said Shinwon.

Hyojong looked at him with his eyebrows raised. “I’m starting to think you bought it for yourself.”

Shinwon chuckled. “I thought that was the point of Christmas presents?” Well, it wasn’t like he could admit that he wanted to drink something strong just to erase that kiss from his memory.

“That’s the wisest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” said Hyojong, and he winked. He then looked behind him. “What about you, Hongseok? Changgu? What do you want?”

It took a few minutes, but Hyojong managed to persuade both Changgu and Hongseok into accepting a shot of the soju as well. Shinwon kept himself busy by opening the bottle. The first two glasses were given to Hongseok and Changgu, and he had just finished pouring out his own drink when he heard Hyojong wolf-whistle. As he screwed the cap on again, he looked up to realise that Hongseok and Changgu were both standing under the mistletoe.

“You know the rules,” said Hyojong.

Shinwon put the soju down on the table again. He grinned at Hongseok, who was blushing hard; and when his friend started to shoot daggers at him, he clasped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from giggling out loud. Then, Shinwon saw Changgu grip Hongseok on the shoulder, and he leaned in—just as Hongseok turned his head slightly, and Changgu ended up kissing him on the side of his mouth. Had Hongseok been any quicker, Shinwon had no doubt that their lips would have touched.

Changgu’s eyes widened as he snapped back, and his whole face turned even redder. Hongseok’s lips were pursed together, but his eyes looked ready to pop out at any second.

“I—” Changgu started. “I—I’ve left some—I have—in my room—” He let go of Hongseok, and darted up the stairs.

“That was hot,” said Hyojong. Shinwon turned to him in time to see him pick up his glass, and then he held out his hand at the doorway. “Cheers. You go first.”

Shinwon narrowed his eyes as he picked up his drink. He looked at the mistletoe, and he knew what Hyojong was planning to do.

“It’s OK,” said Shinwon, smiling. “You go first.”

Hyojong also smiled. “No, you first. You’re the birthday boy.”

“You’re my guest. You should go first.” Shinwon took a small step back, and so did Hyojong.

“You shouldn’t keep your other guests waiting.”

“Nobody’s going to mind if I’m fashionably late. I thought Hyuna nuna needed your help?”

“Jinho and Hwitaek are helping her. She’ll be fine.”

They to-and-fro-ed for about a minute longer, until Shinwon decided that one of them would have to make the first step. They had retreated to the back of the kitchen by then—and then he darted to the door, utilising his longer legs to reach the doorframe faster. He reached up to take the headband down before the shorter man could catch up, and he held his arm outstretched behind him, so there was no danger of them both being under the mistletoe at the same time.

Hyojong pouted. “Spoilsport,” he said.

“Hyung,” said Shinwon, in a half-joking tone, “I don’t think anyone would want to see us making out under the mistletoe.”

Hyojong sighed. “Oh, Shinwon-ie,” he said, just as playfully, “if only we’d met earlier. We could have been such a _hot_ power couple.”

“Not as hot as you and Hyuna nuna.”

Hyojong smirked, and Shinwon could have sworn that he leaned in closer.

“I’ve just remembered something,” said Hyojong. “I wore that for Halloween, right?”

Shinwon gripped both the headband and his drink harder. “I thought you did,” he said.

“I didn’t have it on me all the time.” The smirk on Hyojong’s face widened. “I left it upstairs at one point, and then Jinho-ya returned it to me.”

Shinwon frowned. “ _Jinho_ returned it?” he said, and then he gritted his teeth when he realised his mistake. There was no way that Hyojong had misremembered who had returned the headband to him. He knew, clearly, what he’d done that night.

“You seem surprised.”

“I … heard from … that it was Hwitaek who gave it back, not Jinho.”

Hyojong curled his lip, like he was pretending to think hard. “Oh, I think you’re right,” he said. “Yeah, no, it was Hwitaek-ie. Ah, right, it was Jinho who told me you were ill—”

Shinwon looked up, and smiled when he saw Changgu walking down the stairs. His housemate’s face was still red, and he seemed a little dazed from the way he was walking.

“Changgu,” he said. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

Changgu started, and then replied, “Yeah, I … I got everything.”

Shinwon stuck his outstretched arm over the banister. “Could you do me a favour? As the birthday boy, I’m confiscating Hyojong hyung’s mistletoe. Could you put it in your room?”

Changgu looked delighted as he took the headband. Shinwon ignored Hyojong’s protests, and he slipped out from in-between Hyojong and the side of the stairs. They headed into the living room together.

“Don’t worry, hyung,” he said. “If you stay on your best behaviour, I’ll give it back to you.”

“Eh, keep it,” said Hyojong, with a shrug. “I think you’re going to need it more than me.”

Shinwon was glad that Hyuna interrupted them in that moment, and he walked away from them. Jinho and Hwitaek were sat down on the sofa, in-between the two heart balloons; but Shinwon chose to join Hongseok, who was on his own by the TV. His face was still a rosy shade of pink, and he looked as dazed as Changgu had been.

“I’m starting to think it’s your lucky day,” said Shinwon.

“He wanted to kiss me,” said Hongseok, without looking at Shinwon. He raised his free hand to his lower lip.

“What did I tell you?” Shinwon put his drink down, and began to massage Hongseok’s shoulders. “I bet you wish he’d kissed you on your lips.”

Hongseok slapped him on his thigh.

“Honk, come on,” Shinwon continued. “He only kissed you on the cheek, and you’re acting like he’s seen you naked.”

He glanced at the doorway again, and saw Changgu and Hyojong enter together. Hyojong was carrying two glasses in each hand, and he walked over to Jinho and Hwitaek. Changgu, meanwhile, handed over a drink to Hyuna, and then he glanced at Hongseok.

“There he is,” said Shinwon. He patted Hongseok’s shoulders, and then let go of him. “Go for it. Get your man.”

When Hongseok didn’t move, Shinwon gave him a gentle shove on the back. Changgu happened to be walking over as well, and Shinwon just smiled as Hongseok went to meet him in the middle. He would have been fine with standing back and listening, every now and then, to what they were saying—and then Hyojong walked up to him.

“I got you another shot,” said Hyojong, as he held out a glass.

Shinwon picked up his drink. “I’m not finished with the first one yet.”

Hyojong poured the contents of the second glass into the first one, and then put it down on the floor. “Sorted,” he said. “Where did we get to earlier?”

Shinwon shrugged. “I can’t remember.”

“Oh, I know,” said Hyojong. Shinwon didn’t like the tone of his voice. “I know what you did on Halloween.”

Shinwon’s eyes widened and, without thinking, he glanced at Hwitaek. He could feel his face palling as he made eye contact with Hwitaek, and he realised he had heard Hyojong as well. A second later, Hwitaek muttered something to Jinho, and the two of them stood up; and as they crossed the room, it didn’t escape Shinwon’s attention as to how Hwitaek had both arms around Jinho’s waist, pulling him as close as he could without tripping up.

“Do you, hyung?” said Shinwon, as he continued to watch Hwitaek and Jinho’s backs.

“You _know_ where I left the mistletoe.”

Shinwon shrugged and, in an attempt to stay calm, said, “Well, anyone would’ve seen it if they’d gone upstairs.”

“Funny, isn’t it, that you saw the mistletoe, and then you started to feel sick.”

Shinwon took a swig of his drink. He could feel the soju burning the back of his mouth as he said, “I don’t want to play anymore games, hyung. You know what happened, don’t you?”

“I’ve already told you I know what happened,” said Hyojong, just as Hyuna came up to them. She had her arms crossed, and was looking displeased at her boyfriend.

“Babe,” she said, “are you done bothering Shinwon yet?”

“What?” said Hyojong. His eyes were wider than before. “I was getting somewhere.”

“Nuna, it’s OK,” said Shinwon. “We were talking about Halloween.”

Hyuna just looked even more worried as she turned to Shinwon. “We shouldn’t be talking about this on your birthday,” she said.

Shinwon shook his head. “Honestly, it’s OK. I figured that someone would’ve worked out something by now.”

“No wonder you’re taking it so calmly,” said Hyojong. “I thought you’d be more freaked out.”

Shinwon chuckled. “I think it’s a bit of an open secret by now.” He drank again, and used the soju as an excuse to let some tears pool in his eyes. “Ah, that burns.”

He could tell, from the way that Hyojong and Hyuna were looking at him, that they weren’t fully buying his excuse, but he didn’t care. He dabbed his eyes dry, and complained again about the soju, to be on the safe side.

“You know you’ve never said that before, right?” said Hyojong. “You liked it the first time around.”

Shinwon decided to ignore him. “Did Hwitaek hyung tell you what happened?”

“He told us most of it,” said Hyuna, “but we thought it was Changgu, at first. We only knew it was you after my baby spoke to him.”

“See, babe?” said Hyojong, as he smiled at his girlfriend. “I told you it was the right thing to do.”

“You’re lucky that we guessed the wrong person first.”

“Why would you guess it was Changgu?” said Shinwon.

Hyojong raised his eyebrows. “No offence, Shinwon, but I thought Changgu would be more his type, you know? He adores a pretty smile, and Changgu’s smile kind of knocks yours out the park.”

Shinwon put his free hand on his hip, and shook his head. “I can’t believe you didn’t think of me first,” he said, lightly.

“If you’d lived here last year, you’d understand where I was coming from. We had to put up with their sexual tension crap from day one. I thought it’d get better after Christmas, but it got _worse_.”

Shinwon knew that he couldn’t spend the whole night pretending the soju was too spicy to handle, and he decided to start steering the conversation elsewhere. “You must’ve been jumping for joy when you heard they got together.”

“Obviously.” Hyojong sighed, and patted Shinwon’s shoulder. It was light and gentle, and full of sympathy. “If you ever want to find yourself a nice guy, I can always help you out.”

“I can manage, hyung,” said Shinwon, as he brushed Hyojong’s hand off him.

Hyuna hooked an arm around Hyojong’s waist. “Jinho and Hwitaek have been gone for ages,” she said. “Did they go in the kitchen?”

“I hope they did,” said Hyojong. “If they’ve gone upstairs to f—”

“Let’s find them. While we’re there, Shinwon, would you like another drink?”

For the rest of the party, Halloween wasn’t mentioned again. Shinwon didn’t really talk to Hyojong separately, either. Lucky for him, Hyojong soon became enthralled with drinking games, along with Hyuna’s encouragement. Shinwon knew the games well enough to come out as the victor most of the time; but it wasn’t lost on him that his other housemates were starting to grow tipsy, and even Hongseok didn’t seem too steady on his feet at times.

It was past midnight when Hyojong and Hyuna left. Hongseok should have gone with them, but Shinwon didn’t feel comfortable sending him off in his state; and even though he was motivated to keep Hongseok by Changgu’s side for as long as possible, especially after the mistletoe incident, he was distracted by another problem. He was stuck on the sofa, with Jinho curled up next to him, and his head resting in his lap.

Shinwon was starting to think that Jinho’s superpower involved shrinking. Somehow, his housemate managed to get smaller and smaller each day. Looking down at him, he looked like a cat.

“Shinwon-ah,” he heard Jinho mumble.

“Yeah?” said Shinwon. The temptation to run his hand through his hair was strong.

“Happy birthday…”

Shinwon chuckled. “It’s Saturday, silly,” he said. “It’s not my birthday anymore. Anyway, you’ve said that to me three times already.”

“…but I _like_ saying happy birthday to you.” Jinho grabbed Shinwon’s wrist, and dragged his arm over so that his hand was resting on his shoulder.

“I know you do,” said Shinwon, as he leaned in closer. He started to pat Jinho’s shoulder. “We’re off to bed soon. We’re just waiting for our guests to leave.”

Jinho harrumphed so quietly that Shinwon smiled.

“This is nice,” said Jinho. “Let’s stay here.”

“I don’t think Hwitaek hyung’s going to approve.”

“So? I’m the boss.”

“Of course you are.”

Jinho rolled over onto his back, and stared at Shinwon through narrowed eyes. His arms and legs remained tucked up, making him look even more cattish.

“You’re teasing me,” he said, and he pouted.

Shinwon tried to look as innocent as he could. “I wouldn’t dare.”

“Yes, you would.” Jinho smiled. “You never listen to anyone.”

Shinwon stood up, and Jinho had to sit up to avoid falling onto the floor. He wasn’t going to continue the conversation, not when he could sense the direction Jinho was trying to take it. To his relief, Hwitaek walked into the room, and Shinwon called him over.

“We should get Jinho hyung upstairs,” said Shinwon, “or he’s going to fall asleep here soon.”

“Good idea,” said Hwitaek, and he tried to lift Jinho off the sofa. In response, Jinho waved his arms about, which forced Hwitaek to step away. Shinwon didn’t miss the grumpy glare that Jinho shot him as he staggered onto his feet.

“Killjoy,” said Jinho. When Hwitaek tried to hold his hand, he shrugged him off. “I can go on my own.”

“Jinho-ya—”

“I _said_ I’m fine.”

Shinwon looked at Hwitaek. He was trying his best to stay composed, but Shinwon could tell that he was stung.

“At least Jinho hyung’s going,” said Shinwon. “I honestly thought he was going to stay down here.”

Hwitaek smiled at him, but the corners of his mouth didn’t really rise. Then, Shinwon felt Hwitaek curl his whole hand around his index finger first, before pinching his middle finger as well. Normally, Shinwon would be telling himself that he shouldn’t be indulging him like this, but it didn’t feel right to be mean to him when his mood was already low. Besides, Hwitaek’s fingers were caressing his, and it was comfortable.

“Thanks,” was all Hwitaek said, before he gently tugged Shinwon’s fingers and started to follow Jinho out of the room.

Shinwon let Hwitaek lead him. There was no-one else in the hallway, and when he peered into the kitchen, he saw that it was also empty.

“I can’t be arsed to clean up tonight,” he said.

Hwitaek chuckled, and rested his head on Shinwon’s shoulder. “Me neither,” he said.

“You can stop following me,” said Jinho. He was sort of facing them; he had one foot on the bottom step of the stairs, but he was also hugging the banister.

“We’re not following you,” said Shinwon. He smiled, even though Jinho’s grumpiness hadn’t faded once. “We want to go upstairs too.”

Jinho rolled his eyes, and then raised his other foot. His upper body trembled, and for a second, Shinwon thought that he was about to fall over. He breathed out when Jinho managed to swing his foot onto the second step.

“I had fun tonight,” said Hwitaek, so quietly that Shinwon almost missed it.

“Me too,” said Shinwon. He glanced at Jinho, who didn’t appear to have heard them. “I told you it wouldn’t be a bad idea to celebrate everything together.”

Hwitaek hummed. “You were so good with all those drinking games.”

“It wasn’t anything difficult. It was textbook stuff.”

“You should teach me.”

“Sure, but we’re practicing with water. I don’t want you passing out on the first go.”

Hwitaek giggled. “I’m not _that_ bad, Shinwon.” He pressed his body even closer, so that his head could rest further along his shoulder. His hair brushed the side of Shinwon’s neck. “You saw me on Halloween.”

Shinwon hesitated as he glanced at Jinho. The latter was now five steps in, and he didn’t appear to be reacting to anything they were saying. To be on the safe side, he sidestepped over to the kitchen with Hwitaek following him; and he stopped when they were under the doorway.

“I can’t believe Hyojong hyung had the nerve to bring the headband with him,” said Shinwon. He felt Hwitaek nodding. “He’s caused enough chaos with it already.”

Hwitaek laughed like Shinwon had just told him a joke.

“Chaos is a strong word,” said Hwitaek, when he calmed down. He reached over with his left arm to press his palm onto Shinwon’s right cheek, and then pushed his head closer to kiss him just under his jaw.

Shinwon pushed Hwitaek’s hand away, and jerked his head the moment he was free. They were still holding hands, and he sensed Hwitaek’s fingers move so that he was now also pinching his ring and little fingers, like he was daring him to let go completely. Shinwon took one step forward, but he was looking at the stairs.

“I think Jinho’s done,” said Shinwon, without looking at Hwitaek, and he led the way.

From the bottom of the stairs, he could see the landing was clear as well. Hwitaek didn’t resist as they walked upstairs, but Shinwon could feel him pouting. His heart was pounding, and he tried to convince himself that it was from walking and dragging his housemate with him—up until he felt Hwitaek’s fingers squeeze his, and he could sense his lips on his jaw once again.

Lucky for Shinwon, the next step he took meant that he was now on the landing. The first thing he noticed was that the brightest light was coming from his own bedroom, but that was because his door hadn’t shut properly. Shinwon frowned; he was sure he’d turned all the lights off before heading downstairs, and he definitely remembered shutting his door. Jinho’s light was also on, but Changgu’s room was in complete darkness.

“You should go to Jinho,” said Shinwon, as he walked past Hwitaek’s bedroom. “Make sure he hasn’t passed out on the floor, or he’s not dangling off the bed, or—”

“I know,” said Hwitaek. Despite his curt reply, he sounded amused as well.

Shinwon didn’t say anymore as they reached the end of the landing, and then he slipped his fingers out of Hwitaek’s. He ignored his housemate’s whines as he crossed his arms, and he retreated until his back bumped his door.

“Good night, hyung,” said Shinwon.

“Good night,” said Hwitaek, though he sounded reluctant.

Shinwon remained standing there as he watched Hwitaek enter Jinho’s room. He opened the door just wide enough to show the desk, and Shinwon took it as a good sign that he couldn’t see Jinho passed out on the floor. He waited until Hwitaek had shut the door before he entered his own room.

“Honk?” said Shinwon, the moment he saw his bed. His friend was lying in prone position, with his head turned to the door, and the duvet covering his torso but not his legs. His eyes were closed, but Shinwon could tell that he wasn’t completely asleep yet.

“Yeah,” Hongseok mumbled, as his eyes fluttered open for a second before closing again.

Shinwon sighed. He wasn’t in the mood to try and play matchmaker at this time of night. For a second, he was tempted to let Hongseok have his bed, and instead go into Jinho’s room under the pretence that he was overly concerned about his drunken state, and then somehow bluff his way into kipping on his floor. Then his rational side kicked in; did he really want to be sleeping in the same room as both Jinho and Hwitaek, knowing very well that they were going to be all cuddly and cute in bed with each other?

As Shinwon turned the light off, his mind was made up; his bed should be big enough for him and Hongseok. He sat down on the edge to take his socks off, and then he swivelled around to lie down as well.

“Budge up,” he said, as he elbowed Hongseok on the arm.

The mattress depressed as Hongseok rolled over onto his side, and his back faced Shinwon. They’d shared a bed before, but each time, they usually slept with their backs to each other. This time, however, Shinwon faced the same direction as Hongseok. As he put his head down on the pillow, he made sure to leave enough of a gap for him to breathe without having Hongseok’s hair tickling his face; and then he tugged the duvet so that it fully covered both their bodies.

“Your bed’s nice,” he heard Hongseok say.

“Better than the sofa bed, yeah?” said Shinwon.

“Mhmmm.”

“Honk? Can I have a cuddle?”

“Mhmmm.”

Shinwon shuffled in closer, and then draped his arm over Hongseok’s side. His other arm was pinned down on the mattress by his torso, but the awkward position didn’t matter to Shinwon, who soon drifted off.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the new year, and everyone's returning to the house.

Jinho didn’t get a chance to see Hwitaek over the holidays, so by the time he returned to the house, he was impatient to see his boyfriend again after just under three weeks away from each other. Like last year, they were the first two people to return. Changgu and Shinwon were both due to come back tomorrow afternoon.

He rang the doorbell harder than he’d intended, but that didn’t matter when he heard the locks turn on the other side of the door, followed by an excited squeal as the door opened. Jinho didn’t care about his suitcases as he jumped into Hwitaek’s arms and hugged him. He threaded his hands through his hair, and buried his head into the crook of his neck. He breathed in, taking the scent of Hwitaek’s cologne, and let himself melt into the warmth of Hwitaek’s arms around him, and his hands rubbing his back in big, broad strokes.

Jinho jerked his head back first, and leaned in to kiss him. Their lips brushed, but before Jinho could do anything to deepen it, Hwitaek nudged him away.

“Bring your things in first,” said Hwitaek.

Jinho pouted as he let go of him, and then stepped out of the house to lift up his suitcases. He wandered over to the foot of the stairs, where he put his cases down; and when he returned to Hwitaek, he had already shut and locked the door again. Jinho smirked as his boyfriend turned around, and he pushed him up against the door. He pressed his body on top of Hwitaek’s as close as he could, and slipped a leg in-between Hwitaek’s as his hands tangled through his hair once again.

“You’ve gone purple,” said Jinho, as he played with a strand of hair. “I think I like it more than blue.”

Hwitaek grinned. He hooked an arm around Jinho’s hips, and his other hand rested on the back of Jinho’s head.

“You really suit blond hair,” said Hwitaek.

Jinho blushed as he looked down at Hwitaek’s lips. He closed the gap, and this time, he kissed him hard. He heard Hwitaek gasp, like he’d expected him to take things slowly—and Jinho would have been gentler, had he not just spent three weeks away from him. He was hungry for his boyfriend’s touch, and he moaned into Hwitaek’s mouth as he pressed up even harder against him, and shifted his leg ever so slightly to excite him. He smiled as he felt Hwitaek clench a fistful of his hair in response; and then Jinho pulled back, and began to kiss him along his neck.

“Jin—” he heard Hwitaek gasp. “Jinho-ya—wait— _wait_ —”

Jinho looked up, pouting.

“What is it?” he said.

“We haven’t got time,” said Hwitaek. His lips were red and puffy from all the kissing, and his eyes were barely open. It was hard to seriously take in what he was saying right now.

“What do you mean?” Jinho narrowed his eyes.

“I booked us a table at a restaurant tonight. We need to be out of here in two hours.”

Jinho gawped. “Are you serious?” he said. “We haven’t _touched_ each other in three weeks, and you thought it would be a good idea to eat dinner _in public_?”

“I know,” said Hwitaek, “I just thought it would be a nice way to spend our first night back.”

Hwitaek bit his lip, and he looked so apologetic that Jinho wanted to take back his outburst. It wasn’t that big a deal that they were going to have dinner; it was just the timing of it that had irritated him. He reached behind him to lift Hwitaek’s hand off his head, and then he brought their arms down by their side and held his hand tight.

“I’m sorry,” said Jinho, “I’m not mad at you. I’ve just really missed you.”

“Me too.”

Jinho freed his hand out of Hwitaek’s hair, and he stepped away from the door. He led him over to his cases, but continued to hold his hand.

“I can always unpack my things tomorrow,” said Jinho. He fluttered his eyelashes at Hwitaek, and smiled when he saw his Adam’s apple bob. With his thumb, he began to draw circles on the back of Hwitaek’s hand. “That should free up enough time…”

Hwitaek blinked. “Your … your clothes are going to … the creases…”

Jinho squeezed his hand. “I’ll just break the iron out, then. Give me a hand,” he said, and he picked up one suitcase.

Hwitaek lifted the other one up, and Jinho led him up the stairs. They wheeled the cases down the landing until they arrived at his room. Jinho had to let go of Hwitaek to unlock the door, and he gestured for him to enter his room first. Hwitaek took the two cases with him, leaving it up to Jinho to follow him and shut the door.

Jinho turned around to close his door, but he halted when he saw Shinwon’s door. Last year, when that room had been occupied by Hyojong, he’d been so relieved that he had returned a day ahead of him; it had given him the courage to work out his relationship with Hwitaek, uninterrupted, and it had allowed them to progress things to friends with benefits. Now, though, he really wanted the door to open in that second, and to see Shinwon walk out and yell “surprise!” while doing jazz hands. He wanted Shinwon to notice his blond hair straightaway, and tell him he looked good.

“Jinho?” he heard Hwitaek say. “Are you okay?”

Jinho pushed his door shut, and turned around. “I’m good,” he said. He smiled as he saw Hwitaek already sat down on the edge of his bed. This was not the time to think about Shinwon; and Jinho scurried over to the bed and straddled his boyfriend. He wrapped both arms around Hwitaek’s neck, and sat down in his lap and rolled his hips slightly.

“Anyway,” he said, over the sound of Hwitaek’s tiny whine, “I was thinking, we should do something quick now. I’m really stressed out.”

“I know,” said Hwitaek, weakly.

“Good,” said Jinho, and he went back to kissing Hwitaek again.

***

By the time they were in the restaurant, Jinho was in a better mood.

He still had his frustrations. If he had been any meaner, he would have made Hwitaek cancel the booking. Instead, a more devilish idea crossed his mind, not long after they had placed their order. He waited until their food had arrived and Hwitaek was busy eating, when he slipped his right foot out of his shoe, and stretched until his toe tapped Hwitaek’s knee.

Jinho continued eating, but he couldn’t hold back a smile when he saw Hwitaek’s eyes widen. He started to slide his foot further along his inner thigh—and then Hwitaek started and pushed his chair back a little, and Jinho had to be content with his foot resting halfway down Hwitaek’s thigh.

“Jinho-ya,” said Hwitaek, in a quieter voice.

“Yes?” said Jinho. He blinked as innocently as he could.

“We’re not at home…”

“I know.” Jinho sunk into his chair a little, so that he could press his heel harder against Hwitaek’s leg. He smiled at the sight of his boyfriend’s eyes widening. “You’re not off the hook yet.”

“Can’t we—?”

“Don’t tell me you’re satisfied already?” Jinho pouted. “I wanted to go further.” He nudged Hwitaek with his foot, and then he put his leg down. He didn’t look down as he slipped his shoe on again; instead, he was observing how Hwitaek swallowed, and how a slight whine escaped his lips as he shuffled forward, like he was chasing Jinho’s foot.

“Let’s finish up quick?” said Hwitaek.

“That’s more like it,” said Jinho, and he smirked.

His smile vanished the moment he looked down at his food. He was glad that Hwitaek was more on edge now, but a part of him was dissatisfied too. Hwitaek was too calm, too alert. If that had been Shinwon sat opposite him, Jinho was certain that a game of footsies would have happened by now. Hell, it might have been the other way round, since Shinwon had longer legs than him—he could have been the one with his foot in-between Jinho’s thighs.

Jinho could picture Shinwon getting so worked up that he had to leave for the toilets; and he imagined himself following Shinwon a minute later, and pushing him into a cubicle and climbing on top of him. He could almost feel the thrill of kissing and touching him in a partially public place, knowing that there was a risk of other customers and waiting staff walking in and catching them in the act. He thought about leaving the restaurant arm-in-arm with Shinwon, and giggling to him about the judgemental, knowing look the waiters were giving them as they left; and he pictured Shinwon leading him home, giddy and excited—or at least, as close to the house as they could get before the urge and impatience became too much, and they started to strip off behind whatever was big enough to cover them up.

Jinho could try to make Hwitaek behave a bit more wildly, but he knew what the outcome would be. Hwitaek was the person that Jinho would always be glad to see at the end of a long day, the embodiment of what home should be: warm, safe, and dependable. Sometimes, though, he wished that he would behave more like Shinwon; he wanted him wilder, wittier, more unpredictable. He wanted him to lead him into doing things that he knew he’d regret five years down the line, but also look back on with a fondness that he would never care to admit.

“Did you hear from Shinwon, over Christmas?” he heard Hwitaek ask.

Jinho started, momentarily worried that Hwitaek had worked out something, or that he’d voiced some of his thoughts out loud. It took him a few seconds to realise what he’d asked him, and he shook his head.

“Not really,” said Jinho. “I got a few texts from him, but it sounded like he was really busy.”

“Yeah, I tried to call him the day before Christmas Eve, but he said he was in a hurry. He said he had a last-minute present to buy for a cousin.”

Jinho raised his eyebrows. “He said the same thing to me,” he said. “He must have a lot of cousins.”

“Yeah. I missed him a lot.” Hwitaek paused, and his eyes darted from side to side. “I missed Changgu as well.”

“Same,” was all Jinho decided to say. It was safer than going into details.

True to Hwitaek’s word, they were out of the restaurant twenty minutes later. Jinho made a point of leaving with his arms around one of Hwitaek’s arms, and his head on his shoulder. He was briefly distracted as they left; they passed a couple seated near the door, and Jinho was fairly sure that the taller person of the two was Yan An. The shorter person looked familiar, like they had met exactly once, but Jinho couldn’t remember his name.

The moment they were out of the door, Jinho slipped an arm down Hwitaek’s back, and then pinched his arse. He smiled as his boyfriend yelped, but then pouted when Hwitaek lifted up his arm so that he was hugging him around the small of his back.

“I don’t know if I can wait,” said Jinho, quiet enough that only Hwitaek could hear him.

“Could you … try…?”

“I challenge you to get us home in ten minutes.”

“What happens if I fail?”

Jinho lifted up his head to speak straight into Hwitaek’s ear. “You better hope we’re somewhere quiet.”

They ended up walking faster than usual, but they never checked their phones for the time. Instead, Jinho had more fun whispering all sorts of things into Hwitaek’s ear, and he giggled at how flustered and red in the face his boyfriend got. Jinho restrained himself from doing anything physical, at least up until they were standing in front of their front door, which was when he hugged Hwitaek from behind and started to attack his nape with kisses.

The moment Hwitaek unlocked the door, Jinho leaned on him, and they ended up falling through into the hallway. Hwitaek broke their fall with his arms, but then crumpled onto the floor anyway. Jinho giggled as he kicked the door shut with his foot, and then he lifted himself up just high enough for Hwitaek to turn over onto his back. The moment he was in the right position, Jinho laid down on top of him again, and he placed his arms on either side of his head.

“We’re home,” said Jinho. There was barely a gap between their faces at this point.

“Yeah, we are,” said Hwitaek.

“Any more objections?”

“The door’s not locked.”

“We can do that later,” said Jinho, and he kissed Hwitaek hard.

They were still kissing when they kicked their shoes off and locked the door and dumped their jackets by the doorway. They were two steps up the stairs when Hwitaek lost his shirt, followed by Jinho discarding his own; and by the time they made it into Hwitaek’s room, both of them had stripped to their underwear.

The lights remained off as Hwitaek landed on his bed first, and Jinho tumbled on top of him. Jinho didn’t mind; his hands roamed all over Hwitaek’s body as they kissed again, their mouths slotting naturally against each other. He loved how familiar they were with each other by now; Hwitaek may have his shortcomings, but he was enough for Jinho. This was enough, he thought as he felt Hwitaek slip his hands into his boxers and trace the curve of his arse.

Still, he couldn’t help but think just how perfect it would be, if Shinwon was there too.

***

Shinwon had really missed Jinho and Hwitaek.

At first, he had tried to fool himself into believing that he missed them as close friends. Over the holidays, however, his attempt had failed. He knew what it was like to miss friends, when he’d missed seeing his dormmates last year; he hadn’t spent every day yearning to see their faces, or to draw them into a hug. There had been a few phone calls, and while it had been lovely to hear Jinho and Hwitaek’s voices, he had also forced himself to keep them brief, often using the excuse that he was busy with something to hang up.

By the time Shinwon arrived at the front door and rang the doorbell, he decided that there was no point in holding himself back. He was going to give Jinho and Hwitaek the big, desperate, happy hug he wanted to give them; and if an opportunity arose where he could tease them and joke with them, then he was going to do it.

The door opened, and Shinwon stumbled when someone jumped at him and pulled him into a tight hug. He laughed when he saw the head of purple hair pressed up against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around Hwitaek’s shoulders.

“Hey,” said Shinwon. “I’ll take it you missed me.”

Hwitaek laughed as he drew back. Shinwon gaped at him. He hadn’t expected Hwitaek to actually listen to him and dye his hair—and nor did he realise just how sexy he looked with purple hair.

“Of course I missed you,” said Hwitaek, smiling.

“I love your hair,” said Shinwon. “Purple really suits you.”

Hwitaek blushed. “Do you really think so?”

“Yeah. I thought you looked perfect with blue hair, but purple makes you look … you know, better.”

“I knew I could trust your judgement.”

“What about Jinho hyung? What does he think?”

“He loves it too.” Hwitaek hummed, and then rested his head on Shinwon’s chest again.

Shinwon gently prised Hwitaek’s arms off him, and he took a step back. He bent down a little to pick up his suitcases.

“We’re going to freeze if we stay out here,” said Shinwon. “I don’t think Jinho hyung’s going to want you getting sick all over him.”

Hwitaek laughed, and he helped Shinwon carry a suitcase into the house. Shinwon locked the door just as he heard Jinho yelling his name from the top of the stairs. He turned around, and his eyes widened as he noticed Jinho’s blond hair. His hair was darker than the wig he’d worn for Halloween, but the colour made him look even sweeter when he smiled.

Shinwon gasped as Jinho hugged him with so much force that his back bumped against the front door. He ran a hand through his hair, at first absent-mindedly, until he remembered that Hwitaek was watching them—and he started to pretend that he wanted to see the blond hair in closer detail.

“Has Hwitaek hyung got a thing for blond hair, or something?” said Shinwon, teasingly.

“Ya—” Hwitaek started, as he put his hands on his hips.

Jinho giggled, but he kept resting his head on Shinwon. “He does,” he said, at the same time. “Anyway, I wanted to show you I’m not a square. I’ve wanted to dye my hair for a while.”

“I know you’re not,” said Shinwon. “Good, hard working people want to have a bit of fun too from time to time, right?”

Jinho nodded. Shinwon nudged him away; in his opinion, it was growing too blatant that this was more than just an ordinary hug. He chose to keep looking at Jinho as he said, “You must’ve been thrilled to have the house to yourselves last night.”

Jinho looked down at the floor as his cheeks turned red.

“We were,” he said, before he bounced over to Hwitaek and hooked their arms together. It was only then that Shinwon dared to look at his face—and to his surprise, he couldn’t detect a trace of negativity. Hwitaek was focused on his boyfriend like he hadn’t picked up on anything, even though Shinwon was sure that he shouldn’t have been pleased to see him stroke Jinho’s hair.

“We got to be as loud as we liked—” Jinho continued, before Hwitaek wailed and cut him off.

“Jinho-ya—” said Hwitaek, “that’s too much information.” Now it was his turn to go red in the face.

“Shinwon-ie asked, though,” said Jinho, with a grin.

“I’m pretty sure I didn’t,” said Shinwon, deadpan. “You need to get a hearing test done, hyung.”

Jinho whined, and turned to his boyfriend. “Hwitaek-ie, he’s making fun of me again.”

The three of them bickered back and forth while Shinwon lifted his suitcases up the stairs. He insisted on walking ahead of them, at one point even joking that they were there to act as his safety net. The truth was, he didn’t want to be staring at how they cuddled each other, or watch where their arms were draped. He didn’t want to catch any small, sneaky gestures that only people in love would dare carry out.

Changgu’s door was open, and Shinwon gave him a big, cheery wave as he walked past. He unlocked his door and kicked it open before wheeling his suitcases through. As he walked into his room, he thought he could feel someone staring at his back, and as he glanced over his shoulder, he ended up meeting Jinho’s eyes.

“Have I got something on me?” said Shinwon, as he patted his back by twisting his arm at an odd angle.

Jinho started, and shook his head. “No,” he said, “I … it feels really good that you’re back. That’s all.”

Soon, Shinwon was left alone to unpack his belongings. His plan was to unload all his clothes into his wardrobe, and then he would hurry over to Changgu’s room. He knew that Changgu hadn’t seen Hongseok over Christmas, based on the fact that had he visited, then Shinwon would have ran into them together at some point. He was halfway through his unpacking when he heard a knock on his door, and Changgu pushed it open.

“Hey,” said Changgu. He wasn’t quite meeting Shinwon’s eye, like he had something on his mind.

“You’ve got _perfect_ timing,” said Shinwon. He flipped the lid of his suitcase shut, and stood up. “I was going to find you once I’d got all this done.”

“Really?” Changgu raised his eyebrows. “What did you want—?”

Shinwon waved his hand. “I guess you wanted to ask me something as well?” he said. “We’ll get to mine in a second.” Well, if Changgu’s question was related to Hongseok, then it was wiser to listen to him first in case something unexpected came up.

“Yeah, I did.” Changgu glanced around, and Shinwon gestured at his bed, where they sat down together. “Did you have a good Christmas?”

Shinwon smiled. “Couldn’t have asked for a better one,” he said. “I hope that wasn’t what you wanted to ask me.”

Changgu shook his head. “No, no,” he said, “I … you … you’re still living in the same town as Hongseok, right?”

“Yeah.” Shinwon crossed his arms. “Why? Has he said something to you?”

“No, just…” Changgu took in a breath. “Did you meet up at all, over Christmas?”

“Oh, yeah, we did. We always make time for each other.” Shinwon had a hunch about what Changgu was trying to ask him. “It really was just us, most of the time. No annoying family members … no extra person tagging along … well, I think if _you_ had been there, Honk wouldn’t have minded…” He winked for good measure, and bit his lip as he saw a blush creep across Changgu’s face.

“OK,” said Changgu. “That’s … erm … good to know.”

“It is. How was your Christmas, anyway?” Shinwon put his hands on Changgu’s shoulders and started to massage him, like he was psyching his housemate up.

“It was fun.” Changgu frowned. “Didn’t you want to say something to me?”

“Nope, not anymore.” Shinwon squeezed Changgu’s shoulders—at which point, Changgu wriggled out of his grip, and stood up. “You’re still doing your gym session thingy with Hongseok, right? And Yuto?”

“Yeah, we’re meeting up as usual.”

“Cool. I know Hongseok’s been really keen to see you again. He went on and on a little bit about my birthday party, and what Hyojong hyung did with the mi—”

Changgu cleared his throat as he stepped over to the door. “I won’t keep you,” he said, and he pulled the door open. He was about to walk out, but then he jumped when Hwitaek appeared on the other side.

“Wow, I feel so popular,” said Shinwon, as he watched Changgu step aside to allow Hwitaek into his room.

“What are you talking about?” said Hwitaek, smiling. “You _are_ popular.”

Shinwon reacted by performing a fist pump with both hands. Hwitaek giggled as he sat down next to him.

“Anyway, do you remember your birthday party?” said Hwitaek.

“How could I forget it?” said Shinwon. He put his hands down on the mattress, and leaned back a little. “What’s up?” He almost flinched when he felt Hwitaek clasp a hand over his.

“Do you remember what you promised me?” said Hwitaek, now quieter than before.

Shinwon looked away from him as he tried to remember what Hwitaek was referring to—but he was distracted when he saw Changgu stepping out of his room. He was leaving with such haste that Shinwon had little doubt he’d seen what was happening. He slipped his hand away from Hwitaek’s, and kept it pressed on his chest.

“Drinking games,” he said, as he shuffled away from Hwitaek, just a little. “You wanted me to teach you how to play them.”

“Yeah, I did.” Hwitaek sounded disappointed, which Shinwon chose to ignore.

“We’ll do it later,” said Shinwon. He stood up, and walked over to his suitcases. “I’ve still got things to unpack, and I need to finish off an assignment.”

“Do you want a hand?”

Shinwon hesitated, but then figured that there wasn’t any harm in getting help. All Hwitaek would be doing was unfolding his jeans, shirts, and sweaters. There was nothing potentially saucy about that, he reckoned.

“Sure,” said Shinwon, and he bent over to open the lid again.

Hwitaek picked up a pair of jeans first. He shook it, and then turned them around so that the front was facing him.

“Is this new?” he said. “I swear I’ve never seen this before.”

“No,” said Shinwon. “It’s an old pair. I found it gathering dust at home, so I thought I’d bring it with me.”

“Do you live in a clothes factory, or something?”

Shinwon laughed as he unfolded a pink sweater. “I wish,” he said.

In all honesty, Hwitaek was more of a hinderance than a help. He offered his opinion on every item he unpacked, and then started to suggest which pieces Shinwon could co-ordinate. Shinwon dismissed all his suggestions, and even questioned Hwitaek’s real motive several times; but no matter how vocal he was, secretly, he couldn’t wait to try a few of Hwitaek’s suggestions.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changgu and Hongseok make plans for Saturday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, since you ask me for an update, I do believe I have something which will satisfy you :)
> 
> OMG I can't believe I've got over 2000 views and 100+ kudos! Thank you so much, I never expected this to get so many hits!
> 
> Btw next update might be a little slow as well. I'm working on another PTG fic which really needs my attention now, so I'm going to focus on that for a while. All will be revealed at the end of the month :D

On the way to the gym on Tuesday, Changgu decided to carry out his new year’s resolution: he was going to ask Hongseok out on a date.

It helped that he had spoken to Shinwon beforehand, even if the whole conversation had felt a bit like asking Hongseok’s father for his blessing. If Changgu hadn’t misinterpreted what Shinwon had tried to tell him, then it was clear that Hongseok was still single, and didn’t have his eye on anybody else.

The thing was, Hongseok was the first person who made Changgu nervous. Before meeting him, Changgu used to think that the most nervous he’d ever been was when he’d harboured a crush on a boy in the last year of high school, and had been unable to find the courage to ask him out—but now, that felt like nothing. Just looking at Hongseok made his heart flutter; and spending three weeks away from him hadn’t helped. He’d tried going to the gym on his own after he’d returned home, but being on his own hadn’t felt right.

Changgu reached the gym in what felt like no time at all. He entered the locker room, where he saw Hongseok first, and smiled at him and waved—and then he spotted Yuto and Wooseok next to him. He hesitated a little, but then heard Hongseok calling for him; and the next thing he knew, he was being hugged by him.

“How was your Christmas?” said Hongseok, when he let go.

“It was good,” said Changgu. “How was yours?”

“I enjoyed it.” Hongseok smiled, and for a moment, Changgu completely blocked out their surroundings. He couldn’t look away from Hongseok’s lips, and then he blushed a little when he remembered how close he’d come to kissing him just weeks ago. Then he saw Hongseok’s smile fade, and the corners of his mouth turned downwards slightly. “Are you okay?”

Changgu started as he remembered where he was. “Yeah, I just … missed seeing you,” he said. He turned to Yuto and Wooseok, to stop himself from blushing any harder. “Wooseok, I didn’t know you worked out.”

Wooseok smiled at him; and although his mouth did move, Changgu swore that his eyes stayed the same.

“I’m doing my new year’s resolution,” said Wooseok. His tone was a little on the flat side. “I said I’d join a gym.”

“I hope you don’t mind if he joins us?” said Yuto.

Changgu shook his head. “Why not? The more the merrier,” he said.

Yuto turned to Wooseok with a grin. “See, Wooseok-ie?” he said, gently. “I told you our hyungs wouldn’t mind.”

Wooseok pouted slightly. “Well,” he said, “you’re all used … to … to doing gym stuff and I’m not…”

“It’s never too late to start,” said Hongseok, as he walked over. He clasped a hand on Wooseok’s forearm. “The sort of workouts we’re doing isn’t that difficult to pick up. It’s how much stamina and endurance you’ve got that’s important.”

Changgu opened the locker next to the one Hongseok was using, and he slid his bag off his shoulders. He kept staring ahead as he unzipped his coat. If it had just been Yuto joining them as usual, he could just about manage to ask Hongseok. Wooseok, however, was still a stranger to him; the last time he’d seen him was at Hyunggu’s dance preview. What if things didn’t happen like he hoped they would? It would be mortifying if there were _two_ people there to witness the whole thing unravel.

As Changgu folded his coat and placed it inside the locker, he sighed to himself; and all the courage he’d built up earlier just vanished.

***

It took Wooseok about ten minutes before he was sitting on the floor of the gym and threatening to quit. Changgu reckoned he would have left had it not been for Hongseok, who was insistent on teaching him how to exercise properly; and so, Changgu ended up spending most of the morning with Yuto.

“I thought he wasn’t serious, at first,” said Yuto, after Changgu had finished using a chin-up bar. They could see Hongseok and Wooseok on the other side of the gym. “I’ve told you before, haven’t I, that Wooseok-ie said he’d rather lie on the floor all day than go to the gym?”

“Yeah, you have,” said Changgu. “You’ve said something similar before.”

“It’s nice that he’s sticking to his resolution.”

“Did you make any resolutions?”

Changgu turned to look at Yuto, and he raised his eyebrows when he saw the younger man blush.

“I can’t tell you,” said Yuto. Changgu smiled at him, and Yuto shook his hand. “I really can’t.”

“Yes, you can.” Changgu nudged him with his elbow. “I’m your hyung, Yuto-ya.”

“No, really—”

“It’s something to do with a person, right?”

Yuto just laughed, and then he covered his mouth with his hand. When he recovered, he said, “What about you? Did you make any new year’s resolutions?”

Now it was Changgu’s turn to blush, and he rolled his eyes when he saw Yuto point and laugh at him. He put his hands on his hips.

“That’s not very nice of you to mock your hyung like that, Yuto-ya,” said Changgu, teasingly.

“We’ve got similar resolutions, haven’t we?” said Yuto.

“I think we do.” Changgu slung an arm around Yuto’s shoulders. “Who is it? Is it the tall one or the short one?”

“I…” Yuto looked like he didn’t know how to answer, and he wriggled as he turned his head to where Hongseok and Wooseok were. “Do _you_ like Hongseok hyung?”

“Hey, don’t change the subject.” Changgu grabbed Yuto’s shoulders, and swivelled him around again so they were face-to-face once more. “It’s Wooseok, isn’t it? You’d look cute together.”

“I’ll say the same about you and Hongseok hyung.”

Changgu made a noise as he buried his head in his hands. “I don’t know if we do.”

“I thought you two were a couple when we first met.”

Changgu looked up. There was nothing but sincerity on Yuto’s face. “Did you?”

“I just got that vibe off you, early on.”

“You must’ve been shocked when you found out we barely knew each other.”

“I was, a bit.” Yuto scratched his chin. “I know that Wooseok’s got to get ready for his lecture in the afternoon, so I don’t think he’ll want to hang around with us too long after this. I might take him to that burger place that opened up last month, just before we left. Are you interested, Changgu hyung?”

Changgu knew how he should answer Yuto, but he didn’t want to make it seem obvious. Instead, he opted to ask him, “Is it just a burger joint?”

“Yeah, the word is that the owners are _very_ generous with cheese, and they season the patty with a special sauce.”

Changgu shook his head slightly. “That sounds too fattening for me,” he said, “but thanks for the offer. I, er, I hope it goes well for you and Wooseok.”

“Me?” Yuto’s eyes widened a little. “It’s not a date. If I don’t take him there, he’s going to whine at me.”

Changgu hummed as he nodded. Yuto giggled as he patted Changgu on the chest, and then slipped out of his grasp. Changgu turned to see how Wooseok and Hongseok were getting on—and he started when he caught Wooseok glaring at them. He turned back to Yuto, who didn’t appear to notice anything, and then he suggested that they regrouped.

The first thing Yuto did was to suggest the burger place to Wooseok, and his roommate agreed to it without a second thought. They split up after their session, with Yuto and Wooseok leaving the gym first. Changgu took his time, asking Hongseok about his Christmas. They kept talking as they headed out of the gym, and went along the high street in search of lunch. As they moved along, Changgu could feel his courage starting to rise again, just a little. It definitely helped that it was just the two of them again, and Hongseok had a look full of nothing but encouragement.

“You were really showing Wooseok the ropes today,” said Changgu, once they had sat down in a café and had ordered their food.

“It’s always nice to teach someone new,” said Hongseok. “Anyway, he got into it by the end.”

“Do you think he’s going to come back?”

Hongseok shrugged. “Did Yuto say anything about it?”

“He said that Wooseok’s new year’s resolution was to go to the gym.”

“Really?” said Hongseok. Before he could continue, their drinks arrived; and he waited until they were alone again before he said, “Did you make any new year’s resolutions?”

“No.” Changgu looked down at his drink. He could sense himself blushing a little. “I always make one every year but I never keep it, so I don’t bother anymore. What about you?”

“Same,” said Hongseok, “the only one I’ve actually kept is going to the gym.”

Changgu smiled, and then took a sip from his glass. There were a few other customers seated further inside the café, but it wasn’t busy.

“Have you still got assignments to hand in?” said Hongseok.

Changgu started. “I’ve got two,” he said, “I’ve got one on Thursday, but I’m already finished with it. There’s one on Friday as well, which I need to proof-read.”

Hongseok nodded. “Are you going to be free on Saturday?”

“I should be,” said Changgu, “why?”

“There’s an arcade I wanted to go to last year, but I couldn’t find the time for it. Do you … want to come with me, if you’re free…?”

It took Changgu a second to process what Hongseok was saying to him. “You want me … to go with you … on our own?” he said.

Hongseok looked a little taken aback. Changgu pursed his lips, now wishing that he hadn’t phrased his thoughts like that.

“Yeah,” said Hongseok, “did you want—?”

“No, no,” said Changgu. “I’d _love_ to go with you. I … I just…” He waved his hand.

Hongseok took the hint, and he started to describe the arcade in question. Changgu was sure his blush persisted, even after they had moved on to other subjects; and although a part of him was certain that Hongseok was looking just as flustered, he tried convincing himself that he was imagining things. He was still red in the face when they walked back to the campus, and met Shinwon and Yan An outside the classroom.

“Changgu-ya,” he heard Yan An say, the moment they were within sight of each other. The next thing Changgu knew, Yan An was hugging him so hard that he stumbled backwards a little. He patted his friend on the back and glanced over his shoulder. Hongseok had his face in his hands while Shinwon was smirking and pointing at him.

“Hey,” said Changgu, as he nudged Yan An away from him. “How was your Christmas?”

“It was fun.” Yan An beamed, and hooked his arm in Changgu’s. “I really missed you.”

“Me too, An-ie. When did you come back?”

“Saturday.”

Before they could say any more, their lecturer walked past them to open the door, and their classmates started to file into the classroom. Changgu went to join Shinwon again, and he could feel Yan An tugging on his arm a little. He ignored him as he walked up to Hongseok, whose arms were by his side again.

“I’ll text you the details later,” said Hongseok. “I don’t know when I’m going to be free.”

“It’s okay,” said Changgu. “Just pick whatever works for you.”

Hongseok grinned. “I’ll see you on Saturday.” He patted Changgu’s free shoulder, and then glanced at Shinwon. “See you later.”

“See you,” said Shinwon. There was a gleam in his eyes as he waved at his friend—but the moment he turned to Changgu, he slung his arm across his shoulders and pulled him in closer. Changgu kept his balance, but Yan An yelped. “What was that about Saturday?”

“I’m meeting Hongseok,” said Changgu. He wondered why Shinwon sounded so curious. “We’re going to an arcade.”

Shinwon’s mouth dropped open. “Oh my god,” he said, as they were walking into the classroom. “No _wonder_ he was blushing.”

“You’re meeting Hongseok?” said Yan An, in a much stronger tone than Changgu had been expecting.

“Yeah…” said Changgu.

“I think that’s wonderful,” said Shinwon, loudly. “You two should _really_ see each other more than just once a week.”

“Once a week works for both of us.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Shinwon shook Changgu’s shoulders. “It shouldn’t matter how many times you see your friends in a week.” He leaned back slightly. “Speaking of which, Yan An, when are you meeting Hyunggu again?”

Yan An’s face reddened, but it was hard to tell whether it was because he was blushing, or because he was furious. Changgu had a feeling that it was a mix of both; he could feel the Chinese student’s arm tighten around his. Still, Changgu wriggled himself free from both of them, and pointed to some seats near the back of the room.

***

If you asked Hwitaek if he was happy, he would say that he was. He had a boyfriend for the first time since college, and he couldn’t have asked for better housemates, so of course he was happy.

At the same time, he was confused. He’d thought that being with Jinho would naturally kill any feelings he had for Shinwon—but every time he hung out with Shinwon, he couldn’t help but grab his hand or snuggle up close to him, and he had to shake off the urge to pin him down and kiss him. The only way he could sum it up was like this: he’d had a taste of Shinwon once, and his dissatisfaction with how it had ended now resulted in him wanting another chance. It was something he shouldn’t want, since Jinho was in the picture now.

Hwitaek was thinking about all this on Friday, when he was lying on Jinho’s bed with his head resting on Jinho’s lap. His boyfriend was running one hand through his hair, while he read something on his phone.

“My friend needs my help,” said Jinho. His fingers were scratching a spot on Hwitaek’s scalp, and it was so comforting that, for a second, Hwitaek didn’t process what he was saying. “She wants me to proof-read the assignment that’s due on Monday.”

“You should help her,” said Hwitaek. He couldn’t see the screen from his angle.

“I know, but she wants to see me tomorrow morning.”

Hwitaek frowned. “Tomorrow’s Saturday.”

“I don’t think I’ll be gone too long.” Jinho smiled as he looked down. “I should be back before the evening at the latest.”

“That’s the whole day.”

“You’ve got Shinwon to keep you company.”

Hwitaek froze at Jinho’s words. Changgu had mentioned something about meeting someone on Saturday; it was going to be just him and Shinwon left in the house. His boyfriend brushed his fringe back, and then leaned down to plant a quick kiss on his forehead.

“Yeah,” said Hwitaek, as he watched Jinho pull back, “I do.”

It wasn’t like Hwitaek had to stay in the house on Saturday. He could have also left until he knew that Jinho was coming back, but where could he go? He knew that Hyojong and Hyuna liked to spend their Saturdays together, so there was no way that he was going to even try and tag along like a third wheel. The idea of whiling away time on the high street wasn’t appealing either; he didn’t want to buy anything, and he didn’t know how long Jinho was going to take.

Hwitaek figured, then, that he would just have to stay inside his room and avoid talking to Shinwon as much as he could. As it turned out, it was a plan that worked up until midday, when Hwitaek had to go to the toilet—and the moment he opened his door, he saw Shinwon walking past.

“Hwitaek hyung,” said Shinwon, as he stopped.

“Hey,” said Hwitaek. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. “It feels weird that we’re the only ones here.”

Shinwon nodded. “Yeah, it does.”

“Where did Changgu go anyway?”

“He’s meeting Hongseok for the day,” said Shinwon, grinning. Hwitaek felt something in his chest tighten. “Between you and me, it’s about time that those two have finally gone to have fun together.”

Shinwon winked, and Hwitaek blushed in response.

“Really?” said Hwitaek. He needed a distraction. “What makes you say that?”

“I’ll tell if you don’t tell Changgu.”

“I won’t.”

Shinwon leaned in anyway, even though there was nobody else there to eavesdrop on them.

“Hongseok’s been checking out Changgu for _ages_ , and I’m pretty sure Changgu feels the same way.”

Hwitaek nodded. Shinwon’s smile had widened to the point that his eyes narrowed, and his cheekbones had taken over his face. It felt like all the joy on his face was being directed at Hwitaek for something that he’d done, even though he knew that it was actually because of Hongseok and Changgu.

Hwitaek excused himself before things could get any worse, and he dashed into the bathroom. He tried to avoid thinking about anything as he relieved himself, but he ended up rinsing his hands for longer than was necessary as his thoughts drifted back to Shinwon. Here was the perfect chance for him to finish off what they’d started on Halloween—just the two of them, tucked away in a bedroom, oblivious to the rest of the world.

Then he remembered that he was in a relationship, and he splashed water on his face to clear his thoughts. He kept splashing and splashing until the collar of his shirt was wet as well, and a few droplets clung to his hair. He sighed as he gently bumped his forehead against the mirror, and then put his hands over his face.

“Hyung,” he heard Shinwon say, over the sound of his hand rapping the door. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” said Hwitaek, without lifting his hands away.

“You’ve been in there for a long time.”

“I’m just washing my hands.”

Shinwon shuffled away, and Hwitaek ran his hands over his face before he unlocked the door. As he stepped out, he saw the door to Shinwon’s bedroom close. He was tempted to knock on his door—but he forced himself to head downstairs instead to make lunch.

After Hwitaek had finished eating and washing up the dishes, what he should have done was return to his room and continue working on his assignments. Instead, he paced around the kitchen before opening the cupboard where they kept all the alcohol, and he reached in to grab a bottle of soju sitting in the front. It was a different brand to the one that Hyojong liked, but Hwitaek did have a vague memory of trying out the soju before. He could remember wincing at the taste, but that didn’t matter today. He uncapped the bottle, and took a swig.

Hwitaek felt the soju burn the back of his throat, and he grinned in response. He grabbed two glasses, took another sip, and then made his way into the living room. He had no idea why he’d hated the soju so much at first; now that he was giving it a second chance, it was the best thing he’d ever tasted.

He sat down on the sofa, and carefully placed the glasses down on the table. Shinwon was going to join him soon, he was sure. He leaned back and drank from the bottle again—and then, the next thing he knew, he was sprawled out on the sofa, and a wide-eyed Shinwon was standing in front of him and shaking him on the shoulder. His hands were empty.

“Hwitaek hyung—” he heard Shinwon say.

“Shinwon-ah,” said Hwitaek. He used his elbows to prop himself up, and then patted the seat next to him. “Good timing.”

“What are you doing?”

Shinwon gripped Hwitaek’s forearm. The latter grabbed his wrist in return, and squeezed just hard enough for Shinwon to release his arm.

“You haven’t taught me how to play drinking games yet.”

“No way—” said Shinwon, as he wriggled his arm. Hwitaek gripped his elbow, and pouted at him.

“You promised.”

“You’re drunk.”

“I’m not.” Hwitaek tugged Shinwon’s arm. The taller man stumbled until his knees hit the sofa, and he stuck out his other arm to stop himself from falling on top of Hwitaek. “Soju’s tasty.”

“Hyung, what’s wrong?” Shinwon looked down. “Why are you drinking?”

“I’ll tell you…” Hwitaek let go of Shinwon’s elbow, and tried to point at him, but he didn’t raise his arm very far when he dropped it again. “…if I lose…”

Shinwon frowned as he stood upright again. He shook his arm, and Hwitaek tightened his grip.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” said Shinwon.

Hwitaek shook his head. “Only if I lose,” he said.

Shinwon sighed, and Hwitaek could see him purse his lips together as he sat down. Hwitaek let go of his wrist to clap his hands together, and he smiled. Shinwon just looked even more seriously at him.

“Promise me you’ll tell me what’s wrong if you lose,” said Shinwon.

Hwitaek nodded and nodded and nodded. Shinwon told him to ball up his hands into fists and hold them out in front of him. Then he said something about opening his hands, and closing them again, and sometimes told him to just stretch out one or two fingers, and there was something about opening his hands fully once more. Hwitaek just opened and closed his hands, as he ended up paying more attention to the fact that Shinwon’s hands appeared to be smaller than his.

“You lose,” said Shinwon.

Hwitaek started. “What?” he said.

“Hyung, you lost.”

“How did I lose?”

“You opened your left hand.”

Hwitaek frowned. “I don’t get it…”

Shinwon sighed. “Tell me the rules.”

Hwitaek opened his mouth to answer, but his mind was blank. After a few seconds, he said, “hands are like fists, and … er … one gets open … erm…”

He stopped when he felt Shinwon grab his wrists, and pulled his arms so they were outstretched in front of him. Then, he started to go over the rules again; and this time, Hwitaek concentrated on his mouth, to really understand what he was saying. It went well for about a second, until he started to realise just how soft and kissable Shinwon’s lips looked.

***

Jinho spent the entire morning helping his friend. By the time he left, it was close to one o’clock, and he decided to have lunch on the high street. When he returned to the house, it was just after two.

The house was silent when he opened the front door. As he took his shoes off, he jumped when he heard Hwitaek’s laugh coming from the living room; and he almost called out, until he realised that Hwitaek sounded drunk. Frowning, he kicked his shoes to one side and walked over to the living room.

“You like me,” he heard Hwitaek say, in that aegyo-like tone he only used whenever he was drunk.

There was a short silence, and Jinho started to tiptoe over to the room. His gut instinct was telling him that this was something he shouldn’t be eavesdropping in on, but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

“Of course I do,” came Shinwon’s voice. He sounded sober. “We’re friends.”

“You _know_ what I mean.”

Jinho stopped as he reached the doorframe. He pressed himself up against the wall, and peered into the room. Shinwon was sat on the sofa, with Hwitaek lying flush on top of him. There was an open bottle of soju on the table, along with two empty glasses, which at least explained why Hwitaek was more drunk than Shinwon.

“Yeah, I do,” said Shinwon, but he didn’t sound convinced.

Hwitaek shook his head. He brought a hand up to the side of Shinwon’s face, and stroked his cheek and jaw.

“You kissed me back,” said Hwitaek. “I know you did.”

Jinho’s eyes widened as he clasped a hand over his mouth. Shinwon and Hwitaek had kissed? When? Since when did Hwitaek even fancy Shinwon? He breathed in slowly, knowing that he had to stay as silent as he could. If he made a noise now, then Shinwon would know he was listening.

“You wouldn’t do that if you didn’t like me,” Hwitaek continued.

Jinho looked at Shinwon. The latter’s mouth was open, but his eyes were darting back and forth, and his whole figure seemed frozen in place. If Shinwon wasn’t denying anything, then was it possible that he also felt something for Hwitaek too? He almost gasped out loud when he saw Hwitaek lurch forward; and although all Jinho could see was the back of Hwitaek’s head, he had no doubt that their lips were touching, especially when he saw Shinwon’s eyes widen.

Hwitaek’s hand reached around to Shinwon’s nape, but Shinwon never moved. Jinho couldn’t look away, but he started when he heard Hwitaek laugh, and he saw that they had parted. A second later, Shinwon shut his eyes as he yanked the front of Hwitaek’s shirt and pulled him in to kiss him. Both of them tilted their heads at the same time, like they were trying to get a better angle—but then Shinwon pushed Hwitaek back just as quickly, and he gritted his teeth as he opened his eyes, which were now full of determination.

“You _do_ like me,” said Hwitaek. His voice was even higher, and Jinho could hear the joy in his words.

“Why would you want me?” said Shinwon. His tone was harsh. “I’m sober right now.”

“You are.” Hwitaek sounded confused.

“You’re drunk.”

“If you say so.”

“You _are_ drunk. You’re so drunk you don’t even remember you’ve got a boyfriend. I know you’re not single, and I still kissed you. I used you. Don’t tell me you still want me after that?”

Jinho shook his head. No, this wasn’t Shinwon. He wanted to run in and tell Shinwon to stop pushing Hwitaek away—wait, what—?

Hwitaek burst out laughing with a laugh that sounded like it came from deep within his chest. Jinho started, and Shinwon looked just as taken aback. He had never heard Hwitaek laugh like that before.

“If that’s your logic,” said Hwitaek, as he leaned in so close that Jinho couldn’t see Shinwon’s face anymore, “then I’ve been a very, _very_ bad boyfriend. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Hwitaek moved his head far enough for Jinho to see the panicked look in Shinwon’s eyes. He could just about make out Shinwon shuffling as far back as he could, but he was trapped under Hwitaek’s body.

“What—?” he heard Shinwon gasp. “Hyung, no—t-two wrongs don’t make a right—”

“One right thing won’t change what was wrong.”

Hwitaek lurched again, but he also shuffled up his time so that he was straddling Shinwon’s legs. Jinho could feel his breathing turn erratic as he watched Shinwon shut his eyes, just for a moment, before he pushed Hwitaek back with more force than before. Hwitaek looked like he was about to fall off the sofa, and Shinwon managed to wriggle his legs free in order to stand up, leaving Hwitaek to flop onto the cushions. Shinwon had his back to Jinho now, and his whole frame was heaving.

“No,” said Shinwon. “This has gone too far.”

Jinho turned and fled. There was no way that Shinwon was going to stay in the room any longer, and he wasn’t going to get caught. He had no idea how he managed to dash upstairs without creaking the floorboards, and he didn’t stop until he was in front of his door. His legs were shaking as he fished his keys out of his bag, and he tried to unlock his door until he realised that he was turning his key the wrong way. He managed to open it just as he heard Shinwon utter “fuck” from downstairs, and he darted into his room.

He pushed his door shut, and then staggered over to his bed, where he collapsed face-first. His arms began to tremble, but what terrified him more was that he knew he wasn’t shaking from anger. It took him a few minutes before he calmed down long enough to push himself up, and he shifted so he could sit on the edge of his bed. He ran his hands through his hair, and then decided to flop over onto his bed anyway.

Shinwon must have seen his shoes by the door, and he must have realised that he was back. Jinho knew that Hwitaek would pass out from the soju soon, and that would leave Shinwon free to come upstairs and talk to him. Jinho could predict a few questions already, but when he tried to think a little harder, his mind blanked.

Jinho sat up the moment he heard a knock on his door.

“Jinho hyung,” said Shinwon. “Are you back?”

“Yeah,” said Jinho, and he took in a deep breath. “Come in.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinwon makes a promise to Hongseok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's back :) :) :) now that I'm feeling inspired again, I should be back to updating once every fortnight. I'll see if I can squeeze in some extra updates, since I am quite a few chapters behind where I should be at this point...
> 
> Also, I've got a stantwt account now! If anyone wants to follow me/be mutuals with me, I'm over at [ninetailkyungho](https://twitter.com/ninetailkyungho).

The door edged open, and Jinho watched as Shinwon poked his head in. Shinwon’s face was red, and he looked like he was trying to smile, but his lips trembled too much, and the corners could barely reach the middle of his eyes.

“I didn’t hear you come back,” said Shinwon, as he shut the door behind him.

“Do I usually come back noisy?” said Jinho. He meant it as a joke, but he could hear his own voice sounded heavy.

Shinwon began to fiddle with the door handle. “No,” he said. He seemed to shrink into the corner. “No, just, erm, er, no. You don’t.”

“How’s Hwitaek-ie doing?” Jinho attempted a smile as well, but he ended up biting his lip. He knew that Shinwon was smart enough to connect the dots, so there was no point skirting around the main subject.

Shinwon’s eyes widened a little. “He’s sleeping.” He looked down at the floor. “I left him downstairs. I’ve put a jacket over him.”

Jinho nodded. “How much did he drink anyway?”

“Half a bottle.” Shinwon crossed his arms across his chest.

Jinho chuckled. “He’s such a lightweight.” He paused; he was so used to Shinwon playing with him that he expected his housemate to throw a quip back at him, until he remembered why they were even talking at all. “I know, people in glass houses, right?”

“Yeah,” said Shinwon, so faintly that Jinho barely heard him.

“Shinwon,” Jinho started. He waited until his housemate was looking at him. When he tried to make eye contact, Shinwon flinched. “When did you two kiss?”

Shinwon took in a shaky breath. “Halloween. Hyung, listen, it … it only happened because Hwitaek hyung was a bit drunk, and so was I, and Hyojong hyung had left his mistletoe headband above the door. If the mistletoe hadn’t been there, we wouldn’t have done anything, I _swear_. I could have been even more drunk that night and nothing would have happened—”

Jinho didn’t really listen after that. He was too busy thinking about the night. He remembered wondering where Hwitaek and Shinwon had gone at one point—and then came the memory of opening the door to the downstairs toilet, only to find Hyojong and Hyuna pressed up against the wall, with Hyojong gripping the edge of the sink, and snogging. He’d fled up the stairs shortly afterwards, and that was when he’d tried to open the door to the upstairs toilet.

“You’d already kissed when I found you,” said Jinho, as his eyes widened.

Shinwon nodded. Jinho’s mouth fell open as well. How different would things be right now if he’d gone upstairs just a minute or two earlier, and he would have found them kissing. Maybe he would have two boyfriends right now, or none at all—

Jinho jumped when he heard a dull thud, and then he started when he realised Shinwon was on his knees.

“Please, hyung, listen to me,” said Shinwon. Jinho could see the desperation in his eyes, and his face was drained of all colour. “Hwitaek hyung loves _you_. He does. He loves you so much. What you saw—what happened—that wasn’t him—he’s drunk, you know he is—”

Jinho tried to speak, but he hesitated when he saw Shinwon crawl over to him. His housemate placed a hand on his knee once he was close enough, and he gripped him hard. The last time Jinho had seen Shinwon kneeling at his feet was on that Friday evening, and flashbacks ran through Jinho’s mind.

“There’s nothing between us, I _swear_ ,” Shinwon continued. “We didn’t do anything after Halloween. I’ll take the blame for everything. If you’re angry or hurt or—or—it’s not Hwitaek hyung’s fault, it’s not, I promise, I—”

“Don’t tell Hwitaek I know,” said Jinho. There was no emotion in his voice; and Shinwon stuttered.

“What?” said Shinwon. “Hyung…?”

“It’s simple.” Jinho cocked his head, and he felt Shinwon’s grip loosen. “You will pretend that I never saw what happened downstairs.”

“What about—? Hwitaek hyung’s going to … he’s going to feel so guilty…”

Jinho stood up, and took a step towards Shinwon. The latter retreated, but he remained on the floor, and the gleam in his eyes shifted into a different kind of fear.

“I’ll deal with this,” said Jinho, still as coolly as before. He continued to walk, and Shinwon kept backing away. “It shouldn’t be difficult. You’re already keeping _one_ secret from him.”

Shinwon slowly shook his head. “Hyung, no…”

Jinho stopped when Shinwon had his back pressed up to the wall. He kneeled down, and cupped his hand underneath Shinwon’s chin.

“He doesn’t know what happened in November, does he?” said Jinho. Shinwon shook his head again. “So, tell me, what did Hwitaek-ie taste like?” He leaned in until their faces were so close that their lips were almost touching.

“Hyung, you have a boyfriend—”

“Oh, I know.” Jinho tilted his head forward, and his lips touched Shinwon’s for a second. “Who says Hwitaek-ie was the only bad boyfriend?”

Shinwon was looking everywhere but Jinho’s eyes. “Why—?” he spluttered.

“You’re everything that Hwitaek isn’t,” said Jinho, and he kissed Shinwon for longer this time.

The deepest it went was when Jinho pressed down, and the tip of his tongue gently brushed past Shinwon’s lips. He could taste the faintest trace of soju. If Jinho shut his eyes hard enough, he could almost feel the shape of Hwitaek’s lips on Shinwon’s.

Jinho opened his eyes again when he felt Shinwon push him back. He kept his distance as he watched Shinwon stagger to his feet, and use the wall as support.

“I get your point,” said Shinwon. His whole body was trembling, and he was looking down at their feet. “I promise I won’t say a word to Hwitaek hyung.” He stumbled towards the door, and Jinho just watched as he left his room, and pulled the door shut behind him.

The moment Jinho was fully alone, he sat down on his bed again, and his hands clenched the edge of the mattress. He was going to have to face Hwitaek soon, and he would be stupid to believe that his boyfriend wouldn’t remember anything about what he’d done with Shinwon. The problem was, Jinho knew how he should feel and behave; he should be angry and upset, since it was Hwitaek who had initiated the first kiss. Except, knowing that Hwitaek and Shinwon had kissed several times—and that there were still some lingering feelings between them both—was relieving him, and that scared him at the same time. Was it actually, genuinely possible that he could have them both—?

Jinho started when he heard Shinwon talking. He couldn’t quite hear what he was saying, but he sounded distressed. A few minutes later, he heard Shinwon open and shut his door, and his footsteps sounded like he was in a hurry to leave. Under any other circumstances, Jinho would have ran after him; but today, he released a breath he was holding in. It was better for all of them if Shinwon wasn’t there tonight.

He waited for another ten minutes before he left his room, and headed downstairs. There were now two pairs of shoes missing from the front door, and Jinho turned away before he could think too much about it. He entered the living room, where Hwitaek was still passed out, and he gently lifted up his boyfriend’s head so that he could sit down on the sofa. Hwitaek’s mouth moved but no words came out; and Jinho gently lowered his head onto his lap. He began to stroke Hwitaek’s shoulder and arm, but his thoughts had drifted, in preparation of the inevitable conversation.

***

Shinwon’s legs had turned to jelly the moment he returned to his own room. He didn’t know how he’d managed to stay upright as he had walked over to his bed, but he’d collapsed onto the mattress straightaway.

His whole body trembled as he thought about Jinho’s reaction. What kind of a person would take the news that calmly, and even kiss him back in return? He had to leave the house, and he couldn’t care less how it would look. All he could think about was doing the right thing, and that was leaving.

He slid off his bed and tried to stand up, but his legs were completely numb. Instead, he ended up crawling over to his desk where he grabbed his phone, and he dialled Hongseok’s number.

“Shinwon?” said Hongseok, when the call connected after ten rings. There was a lot of noise down his end of the phone, a mixture of some K-pop hit being blared over speakers and the sound of other people talking.

“Is your sofa bed free tonight?” said Shinwon. He pinched his phone with his shoulder as he tried to push himself up off the floor, but his legs were still too weak.

“Yes.” Hongseok sounded confused. “Why—?”

“Let me stay over. Please. I can’t stay in the house tonight.”

“What’s happened—?”

“Let me stay. I’ll make up for it. I’ll go to the gym with you. Just let me stay, _please_.”

“Shinwon, calm down.”

“What’s wrong?” came Changgu’s voice from nearby.

“Honk, where are you?” said Shinwon.

“I don’t know,” said Hongseok. His voice was more distant now, like he was holding the phone away from him.

“Where are you?” said Shinwon, this time louder to catch his friend’s attention.

“We’re still at the arcade.” Hongseok’s voice was back to full volume now.

“I’ll meet you there.”

“Actually, no, don’t, go to the McDonalds on the high street. We’ll see you there.”

Shinwon agreed, and hung up the phone. He pushed down on the floor again, and this time, he managed to stagger to his feet. In what felt like no time at all, Shinwon packed two sets of spare clothes into his rucksack, and he even threw in his laptop and textbooks for Monday, just in case.

Shinwon kept his head down as he left his room, and he entered the bathroom to grab his toothbrush. He headed downstairs, and he kept his back to the living room as he slipped on his shoes. If he gave in to his urge to check on Hwitaek, he figured he was never going to be able to leave the house. As he unlocked the front door, he thought about calling back upstairs to let Jinho know he was going to be away for the evening; but if he tried to think about his housemate, he felt like he was being pressed against the wall again.

He slammed the front door shut behind him, and hoped that Jinho could hear it. Shinwon kept clutching both bag straps on his walk up to the high street, and it was taking a lot of effort to try and avoid thinking about anything that had happened in the day so far. If he was going to start crying, he would rather wait until he was at Hongseok’s first.

As expected, Shinwon arrived at McDonalds first, and he slumped into a seat by the window. He dumped his rucksack by his feet, and his head hit the table. He put his arms around his head; and the next time he next looked up was when he heard the scrape of two chairs close to him being dragged backwards. He started when he realised that Hongseok and Changgu were there.

“You look terrible,” said Hongseok, as he sat down.

“I know,” said Shinwon.

“Is everything okay?” said Changgu. “Did you argue with Jinho or Hwitaek hyung?”

Shinwon shook his head. “We’re good. I … just wanted to … how was the arcade anyway? Did it live up to your expectations?”

“Yeah, it was fun,” said Hongseok. “Seriously, what’s wrong? Why do you want to sleep over at mine?”

“Hey, I … want to spend more time with my best friend.” Shinwon wanted to reach over and pat Hongseok’s shoulder, but his arm remained glued to his body.

“I should get going,” said Changgu, as he stood up. “I’ve had a really fun day today, Hongseok. Do … do you fancy meeting up again, next weekend?”

It was hard to tell whose face was redder at that point, Changgu’s or Hongseok’s. Shinwon just watched with a shrug; he didn’t feel like teasing anyone at that point.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” said Hongseok, after a slight pause. “I’ll text you later, okay?”

“Sure.” Changgu turned to Shinwon. “Do … er, do they know that you’re sleeping over Hongseok’s tonight?”

“I didn’t see them when I left,” said Shinwon. He looked down at the table, and continued, “could you tell them for me?”

“I will. I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, see you.” Shinwon waved his hand, but he didn’t look up as Changgu left the restaurant.

“Now do you want to tell me what’s happened?” said Hongseok.

“Can we go to yours first?”

Hongseok nodded. Shinwon picked up his bag, and he followed his friend out of the restaurant. The moment they were out on the street, Hongseok slung an arm around Shinwon’s shoulders.

***

Hwitaek stirred as he stretched his arms. His head was hurting like mad, and there was a slight crick in his neck. Then he realised he was sleeping on a sofa, and that his head was resting on Jinho’s lap.

“Are you feeling better?” said Jinho.

“Yeah,” said Hwitaek. He frowned; wait, when did his boyfriend come back? For some reason, he was certain that he’d been with Shinwon that morning, not Jinho. “What time is it?”

“It’s fifteen past four. You were asleep for about an hour.”

“Oh.” Hwitaek glanced around the room. “Where’s Shinwon?”

“He’s gone out.” Jinho didn’t look at him, but he did start stroking the side of Hwitaek’s head. For some reason, Hwitaek wanted to wriggle away from him, like he knew he didn’t deserve this affection from him.

“When did he leave?”

“About an hour ago.”

Hwitaek nodded. “How long have I been asleep for?”

“I don’t know. You were already like this when I came back.” Jinho looked like he was trying to smile, but his eyes didn’t change shape.

Hwitaek tried to sit up, but Jinho slung his other arm across his shoulders to keep him lying down. He glanced at the table, and saw the two glasses and the half-drunk soju. He remembered drinking straight from the bottle, and Shinwon finding him in the living room, and the shock on his face. He’d been too drunk to work out how to play the drinking game that Shinwon had tried to teach him—but he could also remember seeing Shinwon’s face so close to his that all he could think about was kissing him, holding him, wanting to take things further with him—

Now that he thought about it, did they kiss? He was sure that Shinwon had been really close to him. Why did he remember the feeling of soft, warm lips on top of his?

“Did he say anything?” said Hwitaek.

“I don’t know. He wasn’t here when I came back.” Jinho brushed back Hwitaek’s fringe, and he bent down to kiss him on his forehead. “Do you want some haejangguk?”

Hwitaek shook his head. He didn’t want to eat or drink anything; he wanted to find out what the hell had happened between him and Shinwon. He lifted up Jinho’s arm, and this time, he managed to sit up.

“I need to speak to Shinwon,” he said. He reached into his pockets, except they were empty. “Can I borrow your phone?”

“Sure.” Jinho’s face remained expressionless as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He found Shinwon’s number, and began to call him before he held his phone out. Hwitaek was about to take it when a robotic voice told them that they had reached Shinwon’s voicemail, and Hwitaek’s heart plummeted.

“That’s odd,” said Jinho, as he hung up. “He never turns his phone off.”

Hwitaek stood up. Something wasn’t right. “Let me get my phone,” he said, and he ran out of the room. He dashed up the stairs and into his room, where he let the door slam shut behind him. Now that he was alone, he sat down on the floor next to his bed, and he began to think hard about what had happened between him and Shinwon.

***

By the time Shinwon was finished telling Hongseok the entire story of him and Jinho and Hwitaek, his friend couldn’t keep his mouth shut. All Shinwon could do was look down at his lap, and he braced himself for however Hongseok was going to react.

“Shinwon-ie,” said Hongseok, and that was all he seemed to be able to say for a few seconds. “You could’ve said something to me earlier.”

Shinwon put his head in his hands. “I wanted to sort everything out before I told you.”

“That’s not going very well, is it?”

“I know.” Shinwon groaned. “I can’t avoid them forever, but I’m just getting in their way if I stay in the house any longer.”

“You’re not.” Hongseok patted Shinwon on the shoulder. “You’re just confused because of how complicated everything’s got.”

“This isn’t right.” Shinwon ran his hands through his hair. “I shouldn’t still be in the middle of them. They should have moved on from me.” There was a short silence, and then Hongseok shuffled in even closer until he was hugging Shinwon.

“It’s not always easy to let go of someone you love,” said Hongseok.

“Yeah, but they’ve got each other now. They’re actual boyfriends. I thought they’d be so loved up with each other that they’d forget about me, like any normal person should.”

“Hey, there’s no such thing as normal.”

Shinwon knew that Hongseok meant well, but he still couldn’t help but say, “Oh, yeah, some of us can’t even admit we fancy our crush to their face.”

Hongseok stared. “How could _you_ go around teasing _me_ when you had all this happening to you?”

“It’s not my fault you made yourself easy to tease.”

Hongseok rolled his eyes. “This is the last time I tell you I fancy someone.”

“It had better be. Changgu’s a good man.”

“Can we stop talking about me?”

“Honk, can’t we talk about something that’s going right?” The moment Shinwon finished speaking, he watched Hongseok shake his head.

“You can’t avoid Jinho and Hwitaek forever.”

“I’m not going to. I’m just … just … going to stay out of their way for as long as it takes them to fall out of love with me.”

Hongseok raised his eyebrows. “Right, and you think this is going to blow over in one night?”

“I might have to stay here tomorrow as well. I’ve packed all my books and my laptop, just in case.”

“That’s not going to work.”

“How do you know?”

Hongseok threw his hands into the air. “They’ve been crushing over you for months.”

Shinwon just huffed, unwilling to continue the subject any further. He didn’t come here to listen to Hongseok tell him the truth. He crossed his arms, and then said, “Well, anyway, I’m staying with you tonight. It’s better than going home.”

He looked over his shoulder at Hongseok, and he couldn’t understand why his friend was grinning at him.

“Of course you are,” said Hongseok, “but only if you keep your side of the bargain.”

“What bargain?” Shinwon frowned.

“I seem to remember you telling me you’d go the gym on Tuesday, if I let you stay over.”

Shinwon groaned. “Oh, come on, I wasn’t thinking straight when I said that. You’ll still let me stay over, won’t you?”

“Well…” Hongseok started. His tone was serious, but Shinwon could tell from his smile that he was teasing him. “The thing is, I’ve got flatmates to think about, and since you’re out in the living room…”

“I hate you so much, Yang Hongseok,” said Shinwon, begrudgingly. There was no anger in his voice.

“I’ll see you at the gym on Tuesday.” Hongseok winked as he shook Shinwon’s shoulders. Shinwon reacted by sticking his tongue out at him.

***

Jinho spent the evening with Hwitaek. After eating dinner together, they returned to Hwitaek’s bedroom, where Jinho sat down sideways in Hwitaek’s lap—with his arms around his shoulders to steady himself—and they made small talk in-between the plenty of chaste kisses that Jinho kept giving him. He usually kissed his boyfriend on the lips, but then he moved on to the rest of his face, kissing him on every possible spot at least once.

No matter how affectionate Jinho was, it didn’t escape his attention that Hwitaek barely answered him, or how lacklustre his reactions were. There was little doubt that he’d remembered what had happened between him and Shinwon earlier, but Jinho wasn’t going to bring it up. His cover story was that Shinwon had already left the house when he’d returned, so why would he know anything? He ducked his head down to kiss Hwitaek’s neck; but he was only two kisses in when he heard his boyfriend call him.

“Yeah?” said Jinho. His lips were still pressed to Hwitaek’s neck.

“I think I did something really bad.”

Jinho lifted up his head again. Hwitaek was pouting, but tears were threatening to spill from the corners of his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” said Jinho. He started to stroke the back of Hwitaek’s head.

“I got really drunk today.”

“I know you did. I found you passed out, remember?”

Hwitaek shook his head. “No, I got drunk with Shinwon.”

“Did you?”

“He was with me. I said some things I shouldn’t have.” Hwitaek began to chew his bottom lip. Jinho tried to calm him as he kept on stroking his hair. “I think—no, I know I … I kissed him…”

Hwitaek hung his head. He took his hands off Jinho and put them down by his sides instead, like he was preparing to push himself up and off the bed. Jinho pursed his lips as he tightened his grip on Hwitaek’s shoulders.

“So what?” said Jinho. “You were drunk. You just made a silly mistake.”

Hwitaek looked up. There was a deep frown on his face.

“A silly mistake?” he repeated.

“People do silly things when they’re drunk.”

“Jinho-ya, I kissed Shinwon.”

“It’s not like you kissed him when you were sober.” Jinho smiled a little, but that faded when he saw how confused Hwitaek was looking.

“Aren’t you mad at me?” said Hwitaek.

“If I was, I wouldn’t still be this calm, Hwitaek-ie.”

“You shouldn’t hold it in.”

Jinho sighed as he shuffled slightly, like he was trying to get even closer to Hwitaek. “How many times do I have to tell you, I’m fine? Really.”

“I…”

“Stop worrying.” Without saying another word, Jinho pulled him into a hug, and he rested his head on his shoulder. It didn’t matter that Hwitaek didn’t hug him back; Jinho just needed to hide his frown from his boyfriend.

He took in a deep breath to calm his nerves. Jinho needed time to work out how he really felt about Shinwon and Hwitaek, and to process everything he’d learnt today, before deciding what to do. He just hoped that whatever the outcome would be, Hwitaek would be able to forgive him for today.


End file.
